


Mind Games

by AWallFlowersDream



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Bill Cipher Wheel, BillDip, Demons, Eventual Fluff, Gay, Gay Male Character, Hallucinations, Human Bill Cipher, M/M, Magic, Major Character(s), Masochism, Minor Character(s), Paranoia, Pedophilia, Protective Bill Cipher, Relationship(s), Season/Series 01 Spoilers, Season/Series 02 Spoilers, Spoilers, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-31
Updated: 2016-03-31
Packaged: 2018-05-30 05:38:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 29,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6410953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AWallFlowersDream/pseuds/AWallFlowersDream
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dipper tries to deny the feelings he's been having for Bill as he continues to haunt him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mind Games

“There you are, Dipping Sauce!” Dipper instantly recognized his sister’s voice. His head snapped up, and he saw a gleeful Mabel bounding toward him. “I have to say, I’m not surprised to find you in the woods. After checking our room, this place was my next guess.”

Dipper was a little ashamed that he was so predictable. “Is something wrong?” He didn’t get up from his spot under the tree. He had finally found one with roots that formed a comfortable little nook for his body.

“You mean besides everything wacko that goes on in Gravity Falls?” She gave a short laugh. “Nah, everything’s fine. I was just getting a little worried. You’ve been gone for two hours now, and, well, it’s hard not to get easily suspicious around here.”

 _Two hours?_ Had it really already been that long? He ran his fingers through his hair. All he wanted was an escape. Lately, he had been seeing things. He didn’t know how to describe it. Everything seemed distorted at times. Shadows weren’t shadows; they were pools of darkness waiting to drown him. The wind was a collection of whispers urging him to do terrible things. He hadn’t told anyone—not even _himself_. He wouldn’t admit it. He refused. Things were finally starting to get _normal_ again, and he wasn’t about to ruin that with his paranoia. “Nothing to worry about. I’ll be back home soon. Just give me a few minutes.”

Mabel poked his cheek and let out a raspberry. “You got it, Captain Introvert!” She gave a swift salute and skipped away just as happily as she had come.

Dipper’s mind raced as his head tilted back against the bark again. _Two hours?_ This was bad. Now he was losing his sense of time. These were normal pre-teen things, right? He let out a breath and knew nothing was that simple. Not for him, anyway. There was only one logical—or at least, _slightly_ logical—explanation. _Bill_. The demon’s name was sharp in his mind. Dipper had tried so hard to forget about him, but something always brought his thoughts back around to him. His chest hurt, like he had been coughing for a while. Bill was constantly tormenting him in sick ways: threatening him, showing him dead animals, popping out of nowhere, watching him… And he never did it to anyone else, only him. At least, not that he knew of. The worst part was, Dipper kind of liked it.

Oh god. He had been avoiding even _thinking_ that for who knew how long? His face flushed, and his heart thudded against his ribs. He felt like vomiting. His voice was strained. “Oh god…”

Was it true? Was he some sort of emotional masochist? It was best not to think too much into it. A wave of sudden sleepiness crashed over him, dragging down his eyelids. A peaceful black penetrated all thoughts and took him under.

~~~~~

A throbbing sensation pulsed in Dipper’s head. It hurt to move his neck, but it was so sore from leaning back on the tree that he had to. “Augh… Ow…” he moaned.

“Hey, pain is hilarious, kid!”

Despite sitting down, Dipper jumped. He only just took a hold of his surroundings. Besides the tree, everything was a blank, gray slate. It stretched on into infinity, and he could feel the echo in the open air. He stood on his feet, a little woozy, and looked for the source of the voice. The tree had changed; it was completely burnt, and there were several pieces of rope dangling from the branches. At the end of each rope was some sort of glass globe, and spinning inside were… What were they? Upon closer inspection, Dipper identified them as symbols that, for some reason, felt familiar to him: a shooting star, a six-fingered hand, a stitched-up heart, a llama, and several others that had no correlation to each other. They glimmered softly, protruding a white light that was just so pure, so innocent, that Dipper forgot anything he had been thinking about. His eyes locked on them as he stepped closer. The nearer he got, a dark blue ribbon of light began to reveal itself, intertwining and flashing among the glowing white symbols. The boy’s eyes widened and burned, for they refused to blink; he tried. His breath slowed, and his arm automatically extended to touch one—just _one_ was all he wanted. Something in his brain was telling him he _had_ to know what its smooth surface felt like. _Do it._ He reached for the orb. A new energy pulsed through the air. The sound of someone’s heart beating filled his ears, and he realized with a shock that that was _his_ heartbeat he was hearing. How— _when—_ did it become so loud? His finger was only inches away. Just a few more—

“Hey-o!”

Dipper squealed and recoiled with a start. Noise stopped momentarily. When he opened his eyes, the tree was just a regular old forest tree, but everything around it was still gray. Suddenly, he regained his train of thought. That voice was the same as the one before.

A head appeared at his shoulder. “Heya, Pine Tree, did you miss me? Admit it, you missed me!”

Dipper spun around to see no other than the manipulative dream demon he’d suspected was haunting him. If he had any doubts before, they were confirmed now. Bill was a lot taller than the child, so he had to tilt his head back to see all of him, even though his neck was still sore. He wore a white undershirt and black pants. Overtop was a long, yellow coat, the front part ending at the waist and the coattails stretching to the floor. On the inside of said coattails were veins of gold representing the limestone blocks in a pyramid. To add to the formal look, a black bowtie coiled itself around his neck, shiny dress shoes encased his feet, and gloves of what appeared to be leather covered his long, bony fingers. A mop of blond hair swept over his right eye, which was concealed also by a triangular eyepatch. His other was chocolate brown, yet flecked with dazzling gold that would pierce any darkness that dared take him out of the spotlight. The pupil was more vertical than round. His strong, angled jawbone came to a sharp point at the chin of his tanned face. Finally, a slick top hat crowned the top of his head. A maniac grin contorted his lips.

“Pine Tree” didn’t know how to react. Obviously, fear grasped his body, but at the same time, deep down, he was kind of relieved to see him. He hated himself for it. “What’s going on, Bill? And how do you not get so hot in that thing?”

“Welcome to the Mindscape! Here you’ll see the inside of your subconscious and all of your thoughts! And if you look to your left,” Several Bill clones multiplied from the original, as if preforming mitosis. They all looked to where he was pointing. “you’ll see a vast void of nothingness!”

The clones started taking pictures with cameras they just so happened to have. With mock awe, some said things like, “Ooh, very nice! How stunning! So rare!” Then they were sucked back into the first Bill.

“Wha—? What did you _do?_ ”

“Simple, really! All I have to do is snap,” Here he clicked his fingers together for effect, making a dark, glossy cane appear in the air, which he scooped up and leaned his weight on. “And things happen! It’s quite fun, actually. You should try it sometime.”

“But I— I don’t—”

“Ha!” The demon threw his head back in a sharp laugh. “Boy, it sure is funny how dumb you are! You still have all your memories. They’re just not accessible to you through your Mindscape right now. I have to be easily noticed in this dump somehow, and all that junk was cluttering this place up, anyway.”

Dipper froze. Bill was in his Mindscape—his _Mindscape_ —the place of his innermost thoughts and emotions, where all the things he had only said in his head were kept. Did that mean that Bill knew about his secret masochism? How he felt a little tingly when that one golden-brown eye locked on his? No, he hadn’t even admitted that to himself. And Bill would have had to search through all of his memories just to find that one. Dipper was safe. The real question was: could he read his mind right now? “Why are you even here?” he demanded, quickly thinking about puppies.

“I was bored. Life gets a little _flat_ in the second dimension.” Dipper had to force himself not to giggle. He’d laugh at that wonderfully terrible pun later. It was little things like this that tore him in two, though he just didn’t know why. Bill rested his elbow on Dipper’s shoulder as if it was the most natural thing in the world, the cane evaporating. “Anyway, just thought I’d drop in, see how you’ve been handling all those crazy Daymares. Whoops, did I say that out loud?” he mocked.

Dipper side-stepped and made Bill’s arm fall back to his side. “Wait, _Day_ —?”

“You know: daytime nightmares, nightmare visions, delusions, hallucinations. All the fun stuff. I only save the best for my favorite Pine Tree.”

“I _knew_ it! You’ve been the one planting those images in my mind!”

“Oh, so you finally admit it, huh, kid?”

His cheeks got hot. Maybe he shouldn’t have confessed that to Bill. Now he knew they were working, and not only that, but that they were getting to him.

“Quit thinking I didn’t already know.” Bill placed his index finger under the boy’s small chin and his thumb on top of it, leaning his slender figure way over so that they were eye-level, faces inches apart. Dipper’s heartbeat thickened. “And no, these gloves aren’t leather. They’re deer hide.” He merely laughed at Dipper’s horrified expression. “Oh, please, kid. Your ignorance about me is almost insulting. If there’s anything you should know about me, it’s that I… see… _everything_!”

His voice dropped several octaves with the last word, and his one good eye burst into a blood red. Yellow sparks flew out from underneath the eyepatch. Orange and blue fire and lightning erupted behind him. There was no more gray. Everything, everywhere, was fire. The flames were deadly close to licking Dipper’s face. Heat rose. Sweat bubbled quickly on his forehead. Suddenly, everything got pixelated and blurry. Bill’s demonic face, eye still red and brows furrowed, disassembled into blocky chunks like a glitching computer screen. Then he was gone, but the noise was left behind. For a split second, there was color everywhere, then it was all black. All of it. Dipper could’ve sworn that at that moment a hole had opened beneath his feet. He was falling, falling into nothing, for infinity. He didn’t know how to process anything. Panic seized him. He could only grip at one thought as he plunged into the bottomless void.

Bill could read his mind. He knew everything.

~~~~~

            “Dipper!” A girly screech pierced his ears. “Dipper, please, _wake up!_ ”

Whoever was screaming was also shaking him, a little too hard for his liking. His eyes flew open, revealing tree branches swimming in a dusk-blue sky. His lips were parted. Sticky sweat burned on his skin.

“Dippy!” The person grabbed him tightly in a bear hug. Dipper could tell by the oversized sweater sleeves that it was Mabel. His head dropped forward when she released. “I’ve been shaking you for, like, a full minute! Nothing would wake you up. But I only tried shaking. There was totally no slapping or anything.”

That explained why his cheeks stung. He was about to ask her what she was even doing there, but then he remembered he’d promised he’d be back in just a few minutes before falling asleep. Oh god. “Mabel, how long has it been?” His voice was small and weak and rubbed his throat like he had swallowed sandpaper.

“It’s been another half hour! And for future reference, that is _not_ a few minutes. I came back here and saw you right where I had left you. I tried waking you, obviously. You had me terrified half to death! You were so limp. You acted like you were dead, but I knew you weren’t because…” She stopped with a look on her face that said, “Shoot. I shouldn’t have said that.” She trailed off.

“Mabel. Spill the beans.” He knew she couldn’t resist that phrase. It was one of her weaknesses.

Nonetheless, she refused to look at him. “Your eyes, Dipper,” she whispered softly. A silence hung in the air before she continued. “They were wide open and glowing pale blue, and there were no pupils. Your face was ghostly pale. Your mouth was slightly agape. You were nonresponsive, but you still had this look of fear, shock, and awe on your face.”

“Oh.” How was he supposed to respond to _that?_ The boy pondered whether or not he should tell his sister about the dream—or what he hoped was a dream—and decided that there was no way he couldn’t. She already knew something was up, and if there was one person in all of Gravity Falls he could trust, it was her.

“Listen. I didn’t want to say anything, but… I’ve been seeing… _things._ ”

“What kinds of _things?_ ”

“Horrible, awful things. I’m not even sure myself. All I know is that I was about to come back home, and then something pulled me into sleep, like a black wave crashing over my head. Next thing I knew, I was in the Mindscape, Bill was there—“

“Wait, _Bill?_ That disgusting demon that’s been terrorizing us?”

“He’s not _disgusting!_ He’s part human, too!” Aw, shoot.

Mabel was aghast. “How could you _say_ that? He just _invaded your brain!_ ”

It was Dipper’s turn to look away. “Y-you’re right. He’s pretty demented.”

“Of course I’m right. I always am.”

“Yeah, well, I think he’s learned some new tricks. Either that, or he’s been hiding some of his powers.”

“Let’s just get you out of here.” She looped her left arm around his shoulder and helped him up. His legs felt like toothpaste tubes, fleshy and thick. He picked up his foot to take a step, wobbled a little, and collapsed onto his knees. Everything became woozy as his head swam. Out of nowhere, he felt like puking. “Woah, careful there, bro!”

“I’m fine. I’m fine. Let’s get go back to the Shack.” Mabel held him tighter to support him. As he shuffled wearily along, Dipper realized he had forgotten to tell Mabel about the orb tree. _That really wasn’t that important,_ he thought. Besides, he wanted to get as far away from the forest as fast as possible. As he looked back, the shadows grew long and thin, like fingers clawing out to snag him, just out of reach.

~~~~~

            The Mystery Shack was a sanctuary, of sorts. Dipper felt ten times safer here than anywhere else, especially after the incident in the woods. That didn’t necessarily mean he did feel safe here, though. The bag of ice on his forehead was numbing, yet soothing. Mabel had insisted he lay down in the living room’s armchair so she could keep a close eye on him. “Get some sleep,” she said. “ _Actual_ sleep.”

            “Sure thing, Mabe,” he answered, closing his eyes and pretending to be tired. Well, that part he didn’t have to pretend—he _was_ tired—but he did fake falling asleep. There was no way he was getting a wink of shut-eye tonight; that was for certain. And there was no use arguing about it with Mabel, so he’d just have to fake it. He wasn’t risking Bill burrowing into his mind again, not for as long as he could resist sleep. Who knew—maybe he’d set a world record.

And—he hated admitting it—the main reason he didn’t want to see the dream demon again was that he was mortified. Bill could read his mind. He really did _know everything._ He wasn’t lying. He must’ve heard him thinking about his masochistic feelings toward him, too. Oh god, all the secrets he swept under his mental rug, all the lies he locked away in a box in the back of his head—exposed! His cheeks burned with the embarrassment, the shame, the _sickness_ of it all! If Dipper enjoyed emotional pain so much, especially when it was inflicted upon him by Bill, couldn’t that only mean one thing? Doesn’t that technically mean that Dipper Pines has a crush on Bill Cipher? _Aw jeez no._ This made things even worse.

He had had crushes before, but never any like _this!_ They were all on girls— _girls_ for God sake! The _normal_ kind of crush! Oh, who was he kidding? When was he ever going to realize that _nothing_ about him would _ever_ be _normal?_ He and Bill weren’t even the same freaking species! Were they? He was part human, after all, just like he told Mabel… _No._ That didn’t make this any less weird. His face sweat despite the ice bag that was beginning to smother it. _Face it, Dipper,_ he thought. _You’re a freak. You’re nothing but a dumb, gay masochist with a hopeless crush on a deranged parasite._

Yes, every other crush he’d ever had was hopeless, but this was a different kind   of hopeless. And pathetic. And just a tad needy.

Fire raged through his ribcage like heartburn and snaked through his intestines. The pain was fierce. It was like something was pulling at his guts, trying to pull them through his abdomen. He groaned miserably and threw the ice on his stomach. A minute or two passed, and the area lost all feeling. He was draped across the chair: legs dangling over one arm, back sloped against the other, head dipping off the side. He clutched his abs, which were a bit flabbier than he would’ve liked, and exhaled. “I need Pitt Cola,” he mumbled. “Any caffeine. Staying awake through this pain is better than seeing that _monster_ again.” _Even if I do love him._

~~~~~

             There were ten of them, bobbing up and down in the mist. Ten symbols dancing to silent music. They were like fairies in the fact that they were sparkly and flittered away if one tried to touch them. They had shed their orbs, but were beautiful nonetheless: a shooting star, a stitched heart, spectacles, a six-fingered hand, a llama, a question mark, a bag of ice, a one-eyed star, a fish-like shape, and, finally, a tree. At first, they flitted randomly about Dipper, but then they began to calm down and aligned in a circle around him. Mimicking an ancient initiation ceremony, the images spun round him, gradually picking up speed. It started off slow, like a carousal ride, but quickened to the point where the shapes were unidentifiable, just a looping blur of radiance. His eyes crossed as he desperately tried to see everything, but it went by too fast. They twinkled brightly in the suffocating fog. It felt like someone was shoving an endless stream of information into his brain. He couldn’t contain it all. It hurt worse the more it filled up. There was too much knowledge to absorb. The symbols bleared his vision. He drew in a quick breath as if he had been underwater for a long time—

His eyes snapped open as he took in a sharp intake of air. It almost sounded like a gasp. There was a flash of blue, probably just a car passing outside. He had never noticed how dirty the ceiling of the Mystery Shack was, but he did now. His head was tilted back, staring straight up. He didn’t fall asleep in that position, he was pretty sure. Wait— _fall asleep?_ Was he so weak he couldn’t go a single night without shut-eye? No, that wasn’t what that was. Sleep felt different somehow, and he distinctly remembered chugging the last of the Pitt Cola throughout the night. This feeling was familiar in some way, and then it hit him like a bus—it was the same panicky, lifeless feeling he experienced in the forest, right after his confrontation with Bill.

Augh. _Bill._ He had almost forgotten about his new secret. Just imagining the “man” casually leaning all his weight against his cane, the deep, rich brown of his only source of sight, hidden under the wisps of a few out-of-place golden hairs… Looking back at the ceiling, he pondered his position. Yes, Bill could read his mind, but that meant he was limited to only knowing what Dipper was thinking at that moment. Had he ever thought about his feelings for Bill _around_ Bill? He couldn’t remember. He bit his lip and squinted to push the tears back down.

“Crabs!”

“Gah!” _Thunk!_ Dipper hit the ground face-first after fumbling out of the chair. The ice spilled all over. “Hi, Mabel…” he said with his mouth to the floor.

“Ha! See? I _told_ you you were scared of crabs! Pinch pinch pinch!” She poked her twin brother repeatedly.

“That’s not how it works.”

She ignored him. “Good morning! I see you finally woke up from nap-time! I’m glad to see you actually getting well-rested for once.”

He had literally never been more exhausted in his entire life. “Yeah, sure.” He rolled over and picked at an ice cube that wedged itself into his lower back. Ignoring his headache, he stood up. “I guess we should clean this up.”

“I’m on it!” Mabel kicked the ice under the armchair. “All done! I love self-cleaning things.”

“Again. Not how it—”

“Blargh!” She flopped back in the chair and clicked on the TV. “Let’s rot out brains!”

Dipper sat down next to her on the arm. That definitely did sound like fun.

“ _Werewolf Lizard_? Nah! _Extreme Turtle Racing_? I don’t think so. Ooh, _Dream Boy High—Musical Version_!”

Suddenly this sounded a lot less fun. “Come on! Can’t we watch something like _Miss Stery: Breaker of Codes and Hearts_? That’s got something for both of us!”

“Bor-ing!” she sing-songed. “You just want to watch her because you think she’s hot!”

“What? No! I do not!”

“Aw, come on. I know you. You’re at your—” She lowered her voice and put her palm to the side of her mouth. “— _awkward phase._ ” Her voice picked back up. “You’re totally crushing on someone!”

“N-no! Quit it!”

Pure excitement on her face, Mabel broke into joyous babble. “Squeeee! You’re blushing! You _do_ have a crush!” She leaped out of her spot, beginning to bounce up and down.

“Just because I—”

“So who’s the lucky girl?”

He strained his muscles to keep a stern face, but that expression was already “utterly adorable” according to Mabel, and the worsening blushing didn’t help, either. “Mabel, I can honestly say I do not like any girl.” Which wasn’t a lie.

She gasped slowly for dramatic effect. “No. You _don’t_ like a girl. Because you _love_ a girl!”

“No, Mabel, that’s not what I said! Stop twisting my words!”

“Twisting your words? Your words are as untwisted as those straws that protest fun. You’re practically _telling_ me about your love life. You’re a horrible liar, Dippy!”

She may have been right about that, but there was still a fat chance he was going to tell her about Bill. She’d never approve. She’d try to talk him out of his feelings— _his_ feelings. Or worse, she might shut him out.

Nails digging into the cushioned armchair, he gritted his teeth. “I. Do. Not.”

His sister’s mud brown hair flowed down her back. Her Cray-Cray Kawaii Kiwi ChapStick-coated lip protruded in a pout. “Dipper, we’ve known each other literally every day of our lives. It’s obvious you’re acting different. Are you really not going to tell me?”

Dipper’s face went slack, skin still tingling from the heat. No. He wasn’t. He dropped his gaze and noticed something. “Mabel… Where did you get that sweater…?”

“Oh, this?” She tugged on the red wool, forgetting the previous conversation. “I finished knitting it last night! You likey?” As the creases thinned out, the shape stitched into it became more visible. It was a star leaving a trail of rainbows. Minus the magical light, it was identical to the one he saw in the Mindscape.

“I—It’s very girly.”

“Aw, you always know just what to say!”

His hand instinctively scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah. Wow…”

“Hey, don’t act so surprised! I’ve got the knitting skills of an old grandma!”

“And the name of one, too.”

“Watch yourself!” Mabel, giggling, shoved Dipper in the chest. “BRB. I’ve got the taste for soda.”

“We’re all out.” Whoops.

“What? All out? We had loads last night.”

He hesitated to think up a phony excuse. If she knew he drank it all, she would know he was up all night, and then she would worry. “…Maybe gnomes broke in and stole it all?”  

“Ugh, Dipper, you and your crazy conspiracies.” Well, she didn’t suspect him, but now she thought he was stupid. It was worth the trade-off. “I’ll just head into town and fetch some more.”

“You mean _we’ll_ head into town.” Dipper was already putting his shoes on.

“No.” Mabel put her small hand on his shoulder. “I was right the first time. _You_ are staying put, Mister. I’m breaking out my old grandma side. This is Gravity Falls. Freaky stuff happens, even when you’re just going out for soda. And don’t think I can’t see those moons under your eyes. You still need more sleep.” She opened the door to the outside. “Now you do as I say! After all, you _are_ my little brother!”

“By five minutes!” He started walking over to her.

“Still older!” With that, she slammed the door in his face.

It was funny. The reason he wanted to tag along was to protect _her_ from the oddities of Gravity Falls, but she wanted him to stay here to protect _him._ He didn’t bother going after her, though. His anxiety got the best of him at times, and she was one tough chick. She was more than capable of buying soda on her own. Besides, she obviously didn’t want him, anyway.

Exhaling, he slumped against the wall. There were too many questions. What did those symbols mean, and why was one on Mabel’s shirt? Why did he keep getting transported to his Mindscape? If Bill didn’t want him to access his own memories, why did he take him there, and where was he hiding now?

Was it possible that he was watching him right now?

The scary thing was, yes, it was possible. 

He looked around the room. All the dark patches of light started churning, switching colors. Bubbles foamed in the edges of his vision, and everything shrunk, like he was looking through the wrong end of a telescope. It was another Daymare. It hardly even surprised him anymore. He was a freak of nature. He didn’t belong among normal people. _No, you don’t,_ the ticking of the clock seemed to whisper. Another side-effect of the stupid Daymare.

“Why… Why me, Bill…?” he moaned as he slid down the wall, sinking his forehead between his knees. The isolation drove him mad, but being near anyone he cared about put them in danger. He was alone. At least, he hoped he was.

There was something about the lurch in his chest that set off a chain of dopamine in his brain, but the visions were too much to handle. Dipper was literally going insane.

He knew, in order to get back to his regular self, he had to get rid of these blasted Daymares. There was only one person who was responsible for them, and his mind raced with a sickening pleasure at the thought of seeing him again. The desire was alarmingly overbearing. He knew what he had to do.

He had to see Bill. Just once.

~~~~~

            The blankets on his bed were cold from the recent lack of a body. There was no way he’d go to sleep in the armchair and risk Mabel walking in on a blue-eyed Dipper. His frail body slumped into the mattress, eyes already drooping. He almost felt _too_ tired to fall asleep. The hallucinations danced around him. _They’re not real. They can’t hurt you._

 _But you’d like that, anyway, wouldn’t you, masochist?_ a separate part of his brain taunted.

 _Only the emotional kind. Only from Bill,_ the other half shot back.

_Quit hiding it. You’re a freak. You don’t belong in this world. It’s not for you. Your own sister would never speak to you again if she knew who you truly are._

_Shut up, you monster!_

_But I’m you._

He rolled onto his other side every time the conversation’s speaker switched. This wasn’t helping his current dilemma. He had to relax. Tossing and turning would never get him to bed. _Just let go, and don’t think…_

The boy’s arms went limp, and he sunk further into the pillow, deeper and deeper, until he was floating atop a sea of fluff. He swayed as the gentle waves rocked him back and forth. He couldn’t see it—the inkiness was impenetrable—but he could feel it. He didn’t care; it soothed him. Time stretched and died as nothing became everything.

~~~~~

            Dipper yelped as he slammed into the monotone ground. The pain only lasted for a second, though, before vanishing without a trace. Nothing but a dull, chrome land and a single, normal tree revealed itself as he looked around. This was the place.

“Aw, you squeal like a kitten! _Adorable!_ ” He turned his head and tilted it back to see the entire speaker. “Long time, no see, Pine Tree.” Bill had his hands crossed on his cane, his chin resting on top of them. He smirked.

            Dipper scrambled to his feet, not wanting to come across as weak. “Why do you even call me that?”

            “You seem like a person who appreciates trees. You spend an unnatural amount of time around them.”

            “Well stop. My name is Dipper.”

            “You and I both know that’s not true.”

            “Just shut up and listen to me! I want you to take away those Daymares.”

            Bill straightened his spine with impeccable posture. “Woah, sass! Plot twist!”

            “Bill!”

            He seemed uninterested. Bored, even, which he probably was. “Look, kid. Messing with you is one of my few forms of entertainment. You want to just take that away from me?”

            “Yes.”

            “Wow. I’m _hurt._ ” He mocked an insulted expression. “But I suppose I could ease up a bit.” Blue flames snaked between his gloved fingers, a nice color contrast. “If you help me with a little something in return.”

            Everything about this was dangerous, yet intriguing. “…What, exactly?”

            “Look at this place.” Bill gestured around him. “It’s a _dump._ Even you should see how boring it gets in here.”

            Dipper’s pulse quickened. “So? Can’t you just conjure up whatever you want in here?”

            “Believe it or not, infinite power gets old after a while. And there _are_ restrictions, of sorts, but we won’t get into those. This place lacks… activity.”

            “What are you playing at?”

            “I want out. Bring me into the real world, and I’ll take away your Daymares.”

            “What?” That was too risky. Right now, Bill was sealed up in the Mindscape. He couldn’t come face-to-face with his victims in the physical realm. Who knew what could happen if he was brought into the real world? Dipper couldn’t give him the chance to walk freely among his friends. “Even if I wanted to, I don’t know how!”

            “It’s easier than you’d think. Even a simple-minded child like you could do it. Just draw this on any surface.” His hand whipped through the air as he snapped. A Shepard tone rose and yellow sparks exploded. Poor Dipper had to hold his ears. A spot in the air combusted, and lightning extended from the center like tentacles. A small black triangle appeared in the hovering blue and orange fire, growing with the sound. There was a loud blast. The boy shielded his eyes. The only noise now was a faint ringing in the distance. He uncovered his face. In front of the burning flames was a large, black triangle. It had skinny limbs, the arms extended at the sides, fingers in a meditating position. It wore a long top hat and bowtie, and it bore one menacing eye, outlined with four eyelashes on the top and bottom. “Stunning, isn’t it? It’s me, in a simpler form. It’s not to scale, of course. Any size drawing should do, so long as it’s the size of your palm. Once you’ve done that, say ‘Triangulum intangulum,’ and boom!” He snapped again, and the image vanished. “You’ve got yourself a friend. Have we got a deal?”

            “Why on earth would I ever summon you? You’re literally a monster, inside and out! The moment you’d enter my world you’d wreak havoc on whatever you saw first!” Although, the thought did tickle him. If Bill was in his realm, he’d definitely see him a lot more often. And to think, if he could actually hold him… “You’re evil!” he choked.

            Bill was unfazed. “Thanks for the compliment, but don’t get all _sappy_ on me now, Pine Tree.” Dipper flushed. His blood ran cold. Bill, getting antsy, circled him. “Do you really think I’d be that silly? Get help from _you_ to bring me to the mortal world and then go all psycho? If I was going to do that, wouldn’t I get help from some criminal mastermind? If not for the brain power, then for someone a bit more relatable? And there are certain limitations, not that I expected you to know that. I have near-endless power here, and look what I’ve done with it. Besides, you don’t _really_ want those Daymares, do you? What you’re going through is just Level One, and I’m only going to get more bored. Think about it. You’re already slipping into insanity. I can make the fall much, much slower.” He stopped pacing and came nearer. Every step he took closer made Dipper’s heart thud louder. “Even sweet little Mabel will see through this pathetic act you’re putting up, and who can spend time with someone who’s completely lost their mind without going crazy themselves?” The idea of his best and only friend hating and ditching him chilled Dipper’s spine.

            This wasn’t good. He was torn in two. Vomit churned in his stomach and his knees wobbled. He really _didn’t_ want any more Daymares, but how could he let a demon loose in Gravity Falls? Then again, the place _was_ already riddled with the supernatural. How bad could one little addition to the collection be? To make things worse, his feelings were bubbling to the surface again. His blood was thick and moved like honey through his veins. The longer Bill continued his monologue, the more Dipper noticed the highs and lows in his voice, the way it dipped and escalated, how passionate he got about manipulation. It moved the child. The emotion dominated any other. It threw off his concentration, but the way his shimmering hair drooped to one side, the way he tore out his heart and threw it back in, just to do it again…

            He couldn’t help but admire how clever he was. Words of persuasion came so naturally to him. It took talent. The way he tormented him— _just_ him—made him feel special. All his life he was the kid nobody noticed, but now there was someone who actually wanted to talk to him, and who was glad when he visited him. And he needed his help.

            The pain was glorious. His heart lurched and it felt like all the oxygen was drained, but it felt good. He never knew love like this, and he wanted more. What else could this feeling do to his body? He had to know, but couldn’t do anything about it. He had to stop! The demon was right freaking in front of him, and he could read his mind! His secret had to be kept under lock and key. It was mortifying and shameful. He could still protect it. All he had to do was—

            “Stop thinking about Bill.”

Dipper didn’t say it.

 _He_ did.

Time froze, more than it already had.

His eyes widened as he slowly looked up and made eye contact. He breathed through his mouth.

“Kid, I already know.” Dipper was speechless. Hope drained from his body and shock and humiliation took its place. Rather than his heart beating too fast, it felt like it was beating not enough. The blood stopped flowing altogether. Bill’s thin fingers grabbed his chin, forcing him not to look away. His eye bore into the confused child’s soul. His voice deepened a little. “And I know you like the pain.”

 _Aw, come on!_ Dipper’s face became sticky with sweat. His palms struggled with the same problem. Bill didn’t let go, and he had no intention to. His cocky grin, once so beautiful, now mocked him. Dipper let his thoughts flow freely. There was no point holding it back anymore. Tears were on the brink of his lids. It was over. The dream demon was silent for once, obviously anticipating a response. He literally had an eternity to wait. Dipper, as much as he didn’t want to, had to say something.

            “But… Pain is hilarious?”

            Much to his relief, Bill finally released his grip and stood all the way up. His usual confident smirk left, replaced by a blank expression, before hardening into a stern face unlike any Dipper had ever seen him make. It was troubling for so many reasons.

            “You know, you’re a lot more likable than first meets the eye. I can honestly say that you’re not my least favorite human, Pine Tree. When I said you’re adorable, I meant it.”

            His secret was leaked. It had happened. He was already beyond the point of embarrassment, so he might as well ask. There was no better time. _How do you feel about_ me _?_ He didn’t even have to say the words.

            Bill stared at him. At first, he was unsure if the message had gotten through it was taking so long, but then a voice broke through the barrier in his mind. _Curiosity killed the adorable kitten._

His heart dropped. _That didn’t—_

“Answer your question? Yeah, that was kind of the point.”

“Stop—!”

“That.”

He had had enough. He choked back tears. “I want out of here.”

“The feeling is mutual. Glad to see you finally understand my situation.” 

            “Bill. _Cut. It. Out._ Take me home. Now.”

            Bill rubbed his thumb and index finger together, inspecting them. “Like I said, adorable.” He sighed and hung his head. Pointing to a random spot in the void, he zapped the air. Golden triangular outlines floated about, then clustered together until they formed a solid white door. “Oh, and Pine Tree?”

            Dipper had already walked to the door and put his hand on the knob. He stared at it. “What is it now?”

            _You really shouldn’t ask questions you don’t want the answer to._

            He twisted the doorknob without looking back. Behind the wood was a never-ending black abyss. He outstretched his arms, palms facing the dark ocean, closed his eyes, held his breath, and tipped forward. He was falling, but he was free.

~~~~~

The first thing Dipper noticed was that the pillow was drenched with tears. His body was as stiff as a board; his arms were pressed flat against his sides. Loosening up, he cautiously sat straight. He clenched and unclenched his fists as he looked around the bedroom. A piece of paper had been slid under the door. After shuffling over to it, he picked it up and began to read. He knew exactly who it was from as soon as he saw the hot pink marker.

_Hey, Dippin’ Dots! I noticed the door was closed and figured you were asleep. Lazy boy! Anyway, I got the soda, but I noticed we were also out of Cheese Doodles, and I NEED MY DOODLERS. And, you know, you like them, too. So I headed back out to get some. Just don’t be alarmed if I’m gone and a pack of soda has magically appeared. And if I am back, DON’T EAT TOO MANY OF MY DOODLERS! Love, Mab Mabs_

At the bottom was a drawing of a Cheese Doodle, which, to be honest, looked more like a sausage, with the caption “Doodle Doodle.” Relief flooded him. Mabel hadn’t walked in, which meant she didn’t see the glowing eyes that he apparently got whenever he entered the Mindscape. This was the first good news that he heard all day.

The living room was eerily quiet. Mabel was nowhere to be seen. Sure enough, a case of Pitt Cola was resting on the kitchen table. He was satisfied to know that the bags under his eyes weren’t quite so heavy, but there was still an aura of restlessness about him. When was the last time he ate? His stomach was coiling into knots, trying to consume itself. He clambered to the refrigerator, a lot more energetic than he’d been recently, but something stopped him short. He pressed his forehead against the door. He was shaky from hunger, yet didn’t really have an appetite. The events of his nap were haunting. How could he be so foolish and let Bill know about his crush on him? He banged his head. _Stupid stupid stupid!_

The air was thick and toxic. It became harder to keep his balance. Suddenly, he couldn’t anymore, and he tumbled to the floor. Luckily, his arm blocked his head from snapping on the hard tile, but it still hurt. He lay with the side of his face pressed to the filthy ground. He couldn’t speak. “Nngh…” was all that came out as he called for help. There was a creaking sound in the air. Even though all the windows were closed, wind rushed violently around him and tugged at his clothes, but nothing else in the room was affected by it. It was fake. This must’ve been Level Two.

Spots blinked in front of him. He strained his arms’ muscles to push himself up, but an unseen force knocked him back down, like some bully had just shoved him on the playground. It was hard to believe this was only the second level. How many were there? Propping himself onto his elbows, Dipper looked up to find a surface to cling to. There. He reached for the refrigerator handle.

This was awful. These Daymares were only going to get more frequent and increase in severity. If this kept up, he was going to put those he loved in just as much danger. He would either lose all sanity and accidently harm them or worry them half to death. He had no choice. He had to summon Bill. It was highly unlikely that he’d go all dark-side on the town. For the most part, he seemed mentally stable when Dipper saw him in the Mindscape. He had never actually _hurt_ him yet, and how they left off couldn’t be the last time he saw him.

His hand clutched the handle and dragged him up. Once he was on his feet, he still grasped the door, for his calves were rubbery and the wind blew hard, though it had died down. _Quit it, Bill._ But if he could hear, he wasn’t listening. It was now or never.

Where was something to draw with? There, on the table, was Mabel’s pink marker. Dipper braced himself against the breeze, laboring his legs forward. Every step was like wading through quicksand, his legs burning. He had to grab onto every surface in reach to avoid plummeting back to where he started. “Nughp…”

He swiped up the marker in one hand, the other steadying himself on the nearby counter. He bit the tip and pulled. This was so wrong. This wasn’t the answer, but he was too weak to resist, and he knew it. The cap came off easily. It clattered to the floor. The wall was the closest surface. His hand wobbled, and he worried the drawing would be too screwed up to work.

You’re _too screwed up,_ he reminded himself. The felt tip made contact with the wall. Dipper’s hair thrashed in front of his eyes, and he had to whip his head like a member from the boy band Sev’ral Timez. His hand shook, but the marker seemed to guide itself, as if it knew what he was trying to do. One line. Two lines. Three. It was only roughly the size of his face, but according to Bill, that was good enough; he couldn’t make it _too_ obvious. He’d have to find a way to cover it up, but that would come later. Limbs? Check. Bowtie? Check. Hat? Check. All that was left was the eye.

Wind still raged on. The roar was deafening. In the top point of the triangle, he drew a football shape. Four stubby eyelashes on top, four on the bottom. Like Bill said, it was simple. Finally, he drew the one missing key piece: a thin, cat-like pupil.

He wasn’t done. “Triangulufum…” He swallowed. _How about you do something worthwhile for once and say it!_ “Tria…” Louder. “Triangulumpf…” He shoved the words through his throat. “ _Triangulum intangulum!_ ”

He dropped the marker.

A moment ago the drawing was pink, but now it glistened black. The wind died, and he could now release his grip on the countertop, but a new force radiated from the wall. Just like in the Mindscape, orange and blue flames licked each other behind the triangle, which had grown to the size of the entire wall. Sparks exploded, creating a whole new kind of sound that joined the rising tone that started playing. Dipper stepped back a few feet. God, what had he done? What had he _done!_

Deranged laughter echoed off the walls. Lightning burst. Then, a humanoid form plopped from the triangle, landing on its hands and knees. The image shrank back to the size Dipper had drawn it, and the fire extinguished itself. The noise faded in seconds. Everything was back to normal, except for the creature. It stood all the way up, slowly, before showing its face. It grinned mischievously.

“Oh, oh, Gravity Falls, it is good to be back!” Bill looked about the room, clearly pleased with Dipper’s work.

Dipper was not so pleased with his work. Had he really just _summoned a demon?_ He put his head in his hands. “Oh, no…” he moaned. 

“Oh, yes!” His coattails swished as he walked. “I must say, I’m impressed! I really thought you’d find a way to mess this up, and as much as I wanted to be here, I was looking forward to watching you fail.”

Dipper rubbed his temples. “Well, you’re here now, so just _please_ stop with the whole Daymare game, okay?”

The demon was already opening drawers and cabinets, rummaging through the Pines family’s belongings. “Yeah, yeah. How rude do you think I am? I always live up to my end of the bargain. You’re not experiencing one now, are you?”

“I feel like I am,” Dipper grumbled.  

Bill gasped, startling him. He glanced up. _What now?_ Bill was staring at the Pitt Cola placed on the table. “Human soda!” He rushed over and opened a can. “I’m gonna drink it like a person!” He threw back his head, giggling uncontrollably, and turned the can completely upside-down.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Soda gushed into his mouth and eyes and spilled all over the floor. Dipper, barely reaching, was tugging on his arms, but he was too strong. “Ugh! It’s so sticky! Come on, dude, you’re making a mess!”

The last few drops poured out, and only a small portion had even gone in Bill’s mouth. His hair dripped. The sweet liquid flew everywhere as he flopped it to one side. One drop stung in Dipper’s eye. His suit was soaked and sure to have a few stains. He whacked the empty can against the table like he had just chugged a beer. “Ahhh…” He snapped his fingers, and everything was dry again. Except for Dipper.

“Really?” He narrowed his eyes. “I just freed you from an eternity of boredom and this is how you thank me? You can’t even clean off the soda you spilled on me?”

His fingers clicked, and the beverage dissipated from Dipper’s clothes and hair. “Fine. It’s the least I can do for _such a good boy_.” He squished his cheeks and spoke to him like a puppy.

Dipper pushed him away. Bill’s antics were annoying but cute, and he wasn’t going to let his emotions get the best of him. Not this time. He picked up the empty can and threw it away. Bill had been in this world for less than five minutes and Dipper already wanted him out of it. “I still don’t understand why you wanted to come to this realm. It’s even more boring than yours.”

“Haven’t you ever heard that change is good?”

“Knock-knock!”

Mabel. He had almost forgotten. The living room door opened. “Bill!” he whisper-shouted. “You need to hide—!” Bill waved his hand in front of his face, and to Dipper’s amazement, he turned invisible. He went along with it. The child ran to the wall and gave his best “casual” pose, leaning with his back against the triangle and arms crossed in front of his chest. Mabel turned the corner not a second too soon.

“You’re awake!”

“Yeah! How could I not be with you barging in like that?”

“Okay. I was thinking about sharing my snacks with you, but now you’ve lost your Doodle privileges.”

Dipper hardly focused on what she said. There was still a demon lurking in the room, listening to their every word. Either that, or he had wandered off to another part of the house to ransack. He didn’t like either option. And he couldn’t move from that spot.

“I bet you’re starving,” Mabel continued.” _Let this conversation be over as soon as possible._ “Come stress-eat with me! We can binge on _Miss Stery_!” _Please leave, Mabel. Please._

“I, uh.”

“Oh, and I got you something!” She fished around in the plastic bag she was holding and pulled something out, slapping it on top of Dipper’s head. He pulled it off for closer inspection. It was a blue and white baseball cap, with a pine tree shape in the center. It was exactly like the one from the Mindscape. “I saw it and thought of you. You know, because you love the woods so much. It looks cute on you! Wait, no, sorry.” She puffed out her chest and deepened her voice. “It looks manly on you.”

 “Wow. Thanks, Mabs.” He put it back on his head, a little paranoid. That was two symbols he had seen so far. But he had to admit, it was a pretty cool hat.

_“Boy, oh boy, I sure do love that boy… He’s my dream boy… Oh, boy!”_

“Argh! What was that synthesized piece of garbage?”

“Eek! My new _Dream Boy High—Musical Version_ ringtone works! It’s _so_ catchy!” She whipped out her phone. “Double eek! It’s Grenda! Sorry, Dippy, we’ll have to binge-watch later.” She ran upstairs to their room, already chattering away.

Dipper let out the breath he didn’t realize he was holding. That was a close call.

“You know, that could be your anthem.”

Dipper jumped nearly a foot off the ground, squealing at the same pitch Mabel had. Bill materialized and looked at him with a blank expression. So he hadn’t forgotten in the past few hours. Good to know.

“Since when can you turn invisible?”

“Since when can I not?” He didn’t look at him as he said it. Well, he did, but not at his face. Bill was staring at the hat, a look of curiosity and some other emotion Dipper had never seen him express before lingering on his face. It went as quickly as it came.

Dipper took a tablecloth and pinned it over the triangle. The Mystery Shack was such a mess that a wall with a sheet on it actually looked more normal than a wall without one. Why did he draw on the wall with marker? Could a piece of paper not have sufficed? “So, um, when were you thinking about going back to, oh, I don’t know, the dimension you came from?”

“Ha! Funny, kid. I’m not leaving.”

 _Good._ He caught himself. _Wait, no. Not good. Demons equal bad._ “What do you mean ‘you’re not leaving’?”

“The words seem pretty self-explanatory to me. I really thought you were the smart twin, but now I’m having my doubts. I’m begging you to prove me wrong, because if _she’s_ the smart one… Yeesh.”

“Don’t you _dare_ insult my sister’s intelligence again!”

“Yikes. Looks like we know who the sassy one is!”

Dipper steamed. How did he ever have a crush on this creature? How did he _still_ have a crush on this creature? It wasn’t important. What mattered was that he was now physically in this dimension, and it was all his fault. Now what was he supposed to do? He couldn’t let him stomp around Gravity Falls on his own. He had to keep him close by. The thought thrilled him.

Footsteps echoed off the stairs. Bill vanished before Dipper could say anything. “Dipper!” Mabel called out.

“What’s up?”

“Candy and Grenda are having a sleepover tonight. I said I’d come, but now I’m not so sure. I don’t want to leave you all alone…”

“No! I’ll be fine!” He couldn’t think of a more perfect solution. “Don’t let me get in the way of your fun.”

“You _never_ get in the way of my fun. But are you sure you’ll be alright here? I don’t want you getting lonely. I’d feel so guilty…”

“I’m not alone.”

“You’re not? Who else is here?”

“My hat.” She grinned in that way only girls can. “Now go. Have a good time.”

“Thanks, Dipping Sauce.” She gave her brother a quick kiss on the cheek, grabbed her purse, and ran out the door.

Bill appeared at his shoulder. “What, so I’m just a hat now to you, Pine Tree?”

“My name is Pi—I mean, Dipper!” He sighed and rubbed his eyes. “Listen, if you’re not leaving, then you’re staying.”

“That’s kind of how it works.”

“Here.”

“Excuse me?”

“I can’t have you running amuck across town! If you want the full mortal experience, then you’re staying at the Mystery Shack. At least for tonight.”

“Hm. Intriguing offer. Alright. I accept.”

“Wait, you do?’ He was anticipating a huge argument.

“Yup. This sounds interesting.” Bored, Bill walked away and started peeping around the house.

Something strange was going on. Dipper had expected Bill to run off the moment he gained physical form, but here he was, having a sleepover with him. Was it possible that he really was just bored in the Mindscape, no strings attached? It didn’t seem likely, but then again, he had been thrown a lot of curveballs lately. Bill was right. This was going to be interesting.

~~~~~

            “Do you need to sleep, or is that, like, beneath you or something?” The back of Dipper’s neck seemed unusually itchy.

            “Don’t be dumb, kid. I’m part mortal in a mortal realm in a mortal body. _Of course_ I need to sleep, but I can go on a considerably less amount of the stuff than you weaklings.”

            “How does that work?”

            “Your sister is definitely the smart one.”

“Just going to ignore that.” The guys were in the twins’ room. Dipper crossed over to one side. “You can sleep in Mabel’s bed, then, I guess. So long as she never finds out.”

“Bed? You mean that cotton candy blob smothering all those stuffed animals?”

Now that he mentioned it, with all the pink pillows and fluffy blankets on it, Mabel’s bed did look a bit like cotton candy. “Just think of them as dead animals. You dig those.”

Bill eyed them suspiciously, disgusted, then flicked an innocent bunny onto the floor. “Ewgh. Nope. Can’t do it. I’d rather sleep on the floor.”

“Be my guest.” The boy threw a pillow on the ground with a muffled _whap!_ Bill nudged it with his foot, testing the durability. Dipper had an uneasy feeling about this. Falling asleep with Bill Cipher in the same room? That would set off anyone. Of all things, he felt like a parent. He had to make sure his “child” didn’t run away from home in the middle of the night or act strangely in public. This was a new level of weird.

Bill was already lounging, fully clothed, on the pillow.

            “ _Mortals_ sleep in pajamas.”

            “ _Mortals_ are creatures of many faces with multiple hideous outfits. I’m sticking with the classic.” He smoothed out the wrinkles in his coat. He was a lost cause.

“Well, _I’m_ going to change in the bathroom. You stay put.” Dipper was pleased and terrified to see that Bill obeyed his orders. When he came back, decked out in his pajamas, Bill was still lying on the pillow, looking up at the ceiling. There was a snapping noise. His clothes rustled, and he looked down. He was back in his daytime clothes.

“Maybe you should try doing things my way for tonight. You’re welcome to change again, but it’s going to be a long night if you try.”

He groaned and accepted it, plodding to his bed. “Fine. You win. I’ll sleep demon-style. Happy?”

“Happy as I can be.”

Dipper bit his lip, removed his hat, and crawled under the covers. He was sleeping in the same room as his crush, yet he felt sick. He wanted to forget about him, but that was kind of impossible at the moment. Before he went to bed, he had to know something. “…Bill? Now that you’re physical, you can’t still come into my Mindscape, right?”

A pause. “Kid, what did I tell you about asking questions you didn’t want the answer to?”

He thought about this. Curse his ability to easily slide by answering questions! “Right.” He switched off the lamp and shaded the room in inky blackness. His head flopped down as hard as it could. His eyes were wide open, but he saw nothing. Just a few yards away, in this dark room, was Bill Cipher, the man he unwillingly loved.

“See you in your nightmares, kid.”

This only made Dipper feel worse.

~~~~~

He woke up. That was what really stood out to him. Not the harassment of a midnight scare or the feeling of throbbing heartbreak, just waking up. Naturally. It didn’t come with a jolt or sweat streaming across his forehead. It was peaceful. There were no dreams. Nothing. It was all perfect. Except for the fact that it was one o’clock in the morning. Who could blame him? His sleep schedule had had a few wrenches thrown in it recently.

He wanted to savor the moment, but knew how stupid that sounded. While he was awake, though, he might as well use the bathroom. Peeing in the middle of the night was manly, right?

He swept his legs out of the blankets and stood up as quietly as possible. He didn’t want to wake Mabel. If he walked slowly, the floorboards seemed to creak louder, so he pattered blindly like a mouse as quickly as he could across the room. He was pretty sure he was almost—

 _Fwump! Thud!_ “Ugh!” The wind was knocked out of him. He tripped over what must’ve been one of Mabel’s toys and crashed into something else on the floor. He patted it to see what it was. Then it moved. Ice filled his veins. It was a body. “Mabel?”

“Pine Tree, what are you _doing!_ ”

All the blood in his body made a beeline for his face. His heart was a pin cushion, stabbed by a thousand tiny needles, each trying to find a good spot to dig in deep. Mabel was gone. He had completely forgotten. He couldn’t see him, but he was laying on top of Bill, face-to-face, chest-to-chest. His elbows locked and his hands clutched Bill’s arms. He squirmed, but he couldn’t escape.

“Get _off!_ ” he screamed. But he couldn’t. He was paralyzed.

It was like someone had frozen him solid into a statue. A look of horror must have been on his face. He couldn’t even resort to his go-to awkward stuttering. All parts of his body shut down as if they had gone on strike. Even breathing was hard and only came in shallow breaths.

“Pine Tree, I said _off!_ ” Now there was light, but only faintly. Sparks erupted from under Bill’s eyepatch, and the remaining eye glistened a bloody color. The pupil was a thin, black almond. The light was dim. It illuminated nothing else in the room but their faces, but it was enough. Bill’s eyebrows were knitted in fury, and his teeth gritted together.

Dipper was still clenching the man’s arms. Tight. The rest of his body, except for his chest, which was raised mere inches above Bill’s, laid on top of the demon’s body like sardines. Everything aligned except for Bill’s legs, which were much longer than his own.

How long had this been going on? A minute? Five? An hour? It all felt the same, and it didn’t matter, anyway. Who gave a darn about time? Dipper didn’t know if he was enjoying this or not. All he knew was that he couldn’t stop. Otherwise, the world might explode. The way he saw it, there was no other moment like this. There never was, and there never would be again. This was it. This was all he was ever going to get. Now was his chance. For what, he didn’t know. But he had to act or else it’d be lost forever, sealed away in a time unknown by human knowledge—by _demon_ knowledge—either forgotten or hushed at. Something came over him. All the emotion he kept behind his mental dam broke free at that moment. Why hide it any longer? He was tired of being judged for nothing other than how he felt. He was tired of people telling him to hide his true self because he wasn’t like the rest. He was tired of holding back. No, he wasn’t strong. Not anymore. It was just who he was. Maybe _he_ was the monster, inside and out. Good. It was one more thing they’d have in common.

It was now or never, Pine Tree.

Gradually, he bent at the elbows, lowering his chest. His eyes were as big as quarters, and they stayed locked on Bill the closer he got. The nighttime air was clean, still. He clung firmly to Bill’s arms, but his own were so bent now that his forearm and upper arm were about to touch. Bill’s anger switched to confusion, but his eye still glowed red. Bill Cipher, the smart aleck of every dimension, was speechless. He still struggled, though.

Their chests touched. Dipper could feel the older man’s warm breath make contact on his skin. Blood still pooled in his face, but it was worth it. He was tired of being strong. Bill finally found some words. “What are you—?”

Dipper released his grip, laying completely on top of him, wrapped his arms around his neck, and nestled his head into the crook between his shoulder and neck. He closed his eyes. And breathed.

The squirming stopped.

Seconds passed in pure silence. “I’m tired,” Dipper mumbled into his flesh. “Of everything.” He burrowed deeper. More silence. It was perfect.

Dipper could see through his closed lids that the light shifted from a rusty red tint to a pale yellow one. There was movement. Bill’s arms looped around the small child, and his hands rubbed up his spine to his upper back. Dipper opened his eyes sleepily. Because he was so close to them, the first thing he noticed was his crush’s cheeks. They were blushing profoundly. And sure enough, his eye had gone back to classic chestnut, but the golden flecks in it glowed, emitting the pastel aura that shimmered around them. It stared directly up. “Me, too, kid.”

Dipper didn’t know if he returned his feelings or if he had simply accepted the weirdness. He’d ask one more time. “Tell me.”

“Hmm?”

“How you feel about me. How you _actually_ feel about me.” His sleepy face looked up.

Bill turned his head and met his eye. He observed him carefully before opening his mouth. “You’ve always been kind of cute.” He smiled, but it was a different kind of smile than he usually wore. It wasn’t maniacal. It wasn’t cocky. It was… sincere? “Especially when you’re tired.”

  Dipper giggled a little. Finally. An answer.

“Your eyes start to droop, and you faze in and out of reality. Why do you think I wanted to come to this world? To be next to you more often. All those Daymares were to lull you to sleep. That way, I could see you in the Mindscape. That was my only chance to spend time with you. You’re a funny kid.”

“But I don’t understand. If you like me, why did you deny it when you knew about my feelings for you?”

Bill shifted his arms so that they draped over Dipper’s back.

“I wasn’t sure. I’ve never felt ‘love’ before. I guess I never really got a chance to. How was I supposed to know if this was the real deal? I didn’t really _want_ to, either. The thought of caring for anyone but myself was too much. Not to mention I’m a trillion years older than you, part demon, from an alternate dimension, and we’re both boys. I’m new to this whole ‘emotions’ thing, but I’m pretty sure that’s considered messed up.”

A soft smile spread on Dipper’s lips. He had never felt happiness so great before. Never. Not when he had that Cheese Doddle-eating contest with Mabel. Not when Grunkle Stan introduced them to Gravity Falls. Never. All his past crushes had never reciprocated how he felt. He never thought one would. Now, the one person—or creature—he thought he’d despised was keeping him warm at one in the morning and telling him he was cute. “Only in the minds of those who value head over heart.”

His eyes closed as he adjusted his arms in a position that was more comfortable for Bill. He wanted to stay awake; this moment wouldn’t last forever. But it was getting harder to think clearly. The demon’s body radiated with warmth like a living Space Heater. Dipper never had his head in this position on anyone before, and he didn’t know it would be so cozy. His bravery had paid off for once. “Bill…” he whispered, his lips brushing against his ear.  “Thank you.”

Bill moved his jaw upward, making it level with the little boy’s eyes. He slid his lips closer to the skin. They tickled his forehead as he whispered, “Anything for my Pine Tree.” He puckered his lips and gave a small kiss. They lingered there before withdrawing. “Now go to sleep, you demented little pervert.”

Dipper’s grin stretched, eyes still closed. “Already on it, my little nacho.”

Bill left his lips on his forehead, and it was obvious he was smiling. His hair tickled Dipper’s face, making him crinkle his nose with a bubbly pleasure. The pale light diminished as Bill closed his eye. Their breaths synchronized and became even. Together, holding each other, Dipper and Bill drifted off to sleep. The rest of the world—both of their worlds—faded into another place, somewhere far, far away. Nothing mattered but the synonymous pulse of their hearts and their newly strengthened love. The Mystery Shack, bathed in sterile moonlight, contained no living being apart from the fragile boy and the softened demon, wrapped in each other’s arms. Neither moved until dawn broke the silence.

~~~~~

            Dipper stirred. He instinctively reached for the sheets until he remembered last night’s events. Sunlight filtered through the triangular window and pooled on his face. He rolled over.

            “Hmmm…” Someone took a deep breath. The arms previously encasing Dipper rose above his head and stretched. He heard the stiff joints pop.

            “Good morning, Nacho.”

            “Hey, kid!” Bill said, only half awake. “Sleep well?”

            He nodded truthfully for the first time in a while. He did sleep well. No Mindscape shenanigans, or none he could remember. “You didn’t visit me.”

            “Yeah. It was hard not to. You looked so peaceful, though. I didn’t want to ruin that.”

Dipper rolled off of his chest and landed with his back to the floor. He propped himself up on his elbows and turned to Bill. His blond hair was askew in a multitude of directions. It was the first time he ever had bedhead. “Your hair’s a wreck.”

“Speak for yourself, Fur Ball.” He sat all the way up, towering over the kid. “I told you sleeping fully-clothed was the way to do it. Now we don’t have to get dressed.”

“Yeah, because that would’ve taken so long for you anyway.” Dipper mimicked a snap.

Bill did exactly the same, and their hair was fixed. “It’s the thought that counts.” He glanced at the floorboards. He seemed nervous about something. “Hey, Pine Tree, after… last night… I-I was thinking, and... I wanted to ask…” He wasn’t looking at him. “Will you…?” He gave up on the words, visibly flustered, and took to writing. Turquoise fire streamed from his finger as he pointed at the air. Cursive lettering materialized and suspended above the ground. Dipper watched each carefully. They couldn’t have come any slower. The first letter was a _g_ … then an _o_ … A few seconds later, the full message was revealed:

_go out with me?_

“Yeah. That.”

Dipper tucked a chunk of blond hair behind Bill’s right ear, showing off the triangular eyepatch that was usually hidden. “Bill, I would love to love you.”

The words went up in smoke. “You would?”

“Obviously. I don’t know why you’re so surprised. You should’ve known what I was going to say. You know. Telepathy and all.”

“I thought I’d do things human-style, see what it was like to be in your shoes. That, and that power’s a lot weaker now.”

“It is? Since when?”

“Since I came to this realm. Mental energy is a lot less strong here than it is anywhere else. The creatures on this planet lack the psyche that enables power. It’s fading, and I might eventually lose the ability altogether.”

“Oh, Bill, I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t worry.” He grinned. _It comes and goes._

Dipper showed his teeth. _I thought demons weren’t supposed to be sweet.._ Bill was still staring at him as if he hadn’t said a word, his expression unchanged. _Bill?_ No response _._ He couldn’t hear him. The message was unreceived.

His stomach gurgled. “Ugh.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I can’t remember the last time I ate. It’s like my stomach is shrinking into nothing.”

“There’s a simple solution to that.”

His eyes rolled. “Do you need food, too?”

“We’ll see.” He jumped to his feet with surprising agility. He took his boyfriend’s hand and yanked him up. He was a good foot and a half taller than him, maybe two. Dipper stumbled, and then gained his balance. They were walking to the door when he suddenly turned around and ran to his nightstand.

“Wait a sec! I almost forgot!” He grabbed his new cap from Mabel and slid in on his head. “Kind of suits me, don’t you think?”

Bill stared at it absentmindedly, a slight twitch in his nose. “I guess it’s just one more reason to call you Pine Tree. Now come on.” Dipper scurried over to him, and he looped his arm around his shoulder. They bounded down the stairs.

He never had a relationship before, especially one with a boy. Or an other-worldly creature. There were a lot of firsts today.

The couple found the kitchen. Dipper noticed the tablecloth he’d pinned to the wall. The fact that it hadn’t been moved was a good sign. He remembered how just yesterday he thought he had made the worst decision of his life when he drew that symbol. Today, he thought it was the best. “Can I wash this off, or would it…?” he asked, lifting the cloth.

“Heck if I know. You’re the only one who’s ever summoned me. Duh.”

He let it flutter back down. “Okay. Just curious.”

Bill pulled a puffy orange package out of the bag on the table. He held it loosely by one corner with only two fingers, stretching it as far away from him as possible. “What are _these?_ ”

“Cheese Doodles! Mabel left some for me!” Dipper took the package and tore a hole in it. One handful at a time, he shoved the cheese-powdered snack into his mouth, munching loudly. He held it back out to Bill. “Want some?”

He grimaced. “How can you _eat_ that?”

“They’re delicious.”

“Ewgh! They smell like a… radioactive barnyard?”

“Probably the factory chemicals.”

“Forget it. You people lack good taste, and not just in food. I’m sticking to the good stuff.” He picked up another can of Pitt Cola and poured it in his eyes, laughing hysterically.

“If you need to sleep, you probably need to eat,” Dipper sighed.

He lowered the can. “Kid, I feel fine.” Soda dripped from his hair.

“I don’t know…” The front door clicked open. He froze. Bill waved a hand and dematerialized before Dipper could even tell him to. Mabel rounded the corner, bubbly and vibrant. 

“Oh! Hey, Cheese Face!” She jammed a fist into the bag in his hands and pulled out a mass of the junk food as he licked the powder from his face. “Nice breakfast. I like your style.”

Conscious that they were not alone, he watched his words carefully. “You’re back already?”

“Of course. I caught the scent of Cheese Doodles.”  

“Hm…” He was unsure what to say. He had to get her out. Bill couldn’t stand there invisible all day. “You’re wearing that sweater _again?_ ” He nodded at her shooting star shirt.

“Yup! I really like it! It’s like my _emblem!_ And I always wear another shirt underneath. I could wear it every day if I wanted to, which I think I might. Hey, maybe that hat can be _your_ emblem!”

“What? This? Oh, I don’t know about _emblem,_ but I do love it. Thanks.”

“Well _duh_. Of course you love it. _I_ picked it out! Oh, and guess what? I can’t believe I almost forgot! Guess guess guess guess guess guess—!”

“What?”

“Grunkle Stan called me while I was at Grenda’s! He and the others are coming home!”

“They are?” A few weeks ago, Grunkle Stan and Great Uncle Ford traveled to Piedmont, California to visit relatives. They took along a few of their friends as a bit of a vacation for them: Wendy, Robbie, McGucket, Soos. Since they had spent so much of their lives in Piedmont, Dipper and Mabel decided to hang back and watch the Mystery Shack. It felt like so long since he saw them that he nearly forgot their existence. To be fair, he had been a little preoccupied.

“Yes! I can’t wait a whole day!” She thrust her hands into the air. “Finally, the Mystery Shack won’t be so quiet. It’s time to get some life pumping back in here!”

“Heh, they will be around here a lot, won’t they? I hadn’t even thought of that…” Dipper glanced around the room as if he might spot Bill. He had to get her out of here. Something about this situation felt familiar. “Hey, why don’t you go upstairs and unpack?”

“Meh. I’ll do it later.”

“No you won’t.”

“Fine. Why do you know me so well?” She rolled her eyes playfully and galloped up the steps.

Once Mabel was gone, Dipper threw the bag on the table; he was full enough. He pressed his hands’ heels to his temples. “Ooooh, Bill, what are we gonna do? We didn’t think this through! Mabel’s here, and who knows what she would do if she even saw you, never mind _us_. Where are _you_ supposed to stay? Not _here_ , but not anywhere else, either! And now my family’s coming, and I don’t know what to do!”

Bill didn’t appear next to him like he had expected. Instead, his lanky form showed up wedged in the corner of the room, the one farthest from him. He sat on the countertop, legs crossed. “You okay, there, Pine Tree?”

Dipper looked at him. “Are _you?_ What are you doing all the way over there?”

He shifted his legs. “Humans disgust me.”

“ _Ahem?_ ”

“Don’t worry. You have your moments.”

“Is that any way to treat your boyfriend?” The word tingled on his tongue like popping candy. Never had he been able to say that. It felt like it was banned, like saying it was forbidden. He held his breath, hoping he hadn’t made a mistake.

“How would I know? I’m new here. _Remember?_ ” Hopping onto his feet, he glided over to the boy’s side.

“Enough excuses! This is important! How is this supposed to work? We can’t keep this a secret!”

“Then tell her.”

“ _What?_ ”

“Tell her you’re gay. No biggie.”

“No biggie? It’s the biggest biggie of all the biggies! And what good would it do, anyway, if she doesn’t know it’s with you? Everyone thinks you’re evil, Bill! Absolutely no one would understand! No one!”

“I _am_ evil.”

“No, you’re not. Evil people don’t have hearts or feelings, and whether you like it or not, you have both.”

“That’s sweet, but a lie. I follow every definition of the word.” Dipper opened his mouth to protest more, but was cut off. “I don’t have to live here. I’ll take care of myself.”

“But when would we see each other? We can’t even speak through our heads anymore.”

 _Right?_ He double-checked.

 _I told you, it comes and goes._ “We can meet at night.”

“That’s not good enough! I want to see you every second, you little nacho! You’re telling me the only way we can go out is if I deceive my sister and sneak out every night? And what about sleep? I don’t mind staying up to see you, but she’ll get suspicious if I start dozing off at noon!”

“Sounds to me like she’s holding you down.”

“Huh?”

The demon rested his elbow on his boyfriend’s shoulder. “You act like she’s so understanding, but the way you describe her makes her sound like an overbearing control-freak.”

“Well, she’s not. She just cares about me, and dating a paranormal being that used to pester us is kind of a red flag.”

Bill rolled his eyes and ruffled Dipper’s hair through his hat. “If you say so. So about this family of yours…”

Someone screamed.

Bill whiplashed around. Even he was startled, eye wide. Dipper’s heart picked up the pace as he saw what was going on.

Mabel, eyes bigger than both of theirs combined, stood right in front of them. She was still screaming.

Bill vanished without a trace, leaving Dipper to fend for himself. He reached for his arm and caught a hold of it, but it had already vaporized and it looked like he was holding a translucent cup. The unseen Bill turned sharply and made Dipper fall forward. He stumbled and composed himself, but he lost his grip on the man.

Somewhere along the line, Mabel had stopped screaming. “Dipper, what is _he_ doing here!”

“I—” Flashbacks of last night’s incident surfaced. The awkwardness was almost just as strong here. Avoiding her gaze, he whipped his head around the room, looking for any movement whatsoever.

Mabel had apparently come to the realization that the monster could turn invisible and lunged forward. It was unclear if she had seen how friendly the two were being, and whether she was trying to save her brother from his clutches or capture the demon to pound on him. Her body crashed into the table with a hard _whack!_ A yelp escaped her lips.

“Quit it!”

“ _What?_ ” she snarled.

“Not you! _Him!_ ” Her twin grabbed her by the shoulder and helped her up just before the table toppled over. Mabel was almost on her feet when an unexpected force came at her from the right. It was like a wall slammed into her side, but there was nothing there. She didn’t fall, but she was separated from her brother. “Stop! What are you doing?” he yelled to no point in particular.

“What is _he_ doing? What are _you_ doing? I expect this from him! You act like this isn’t normal!” Her brows were knitted. A faint breeze started to pick up.

“No,” Dipper whispered. “You promised.” Then he saw his sister’s hair flutter, and he knew it wasn’t a Daymare.

Mabel stared at the wall behind him in horror. She raised a bony finger and pointed shakily. Her anger turned to fear. “What is _that?_ ” Dipper, whirling around, saw the tablecloth on the wall drift up. The hot pink triangle that had summoned Bill from his own mind into reality was still scrawled there. “How did that get there? On our _wall?_ When?”

Shame flooded over him for betraying her, then guilt washed over as he thought of Bill. He was ripped in two. He scrunched his eyes. _Bill, if you can hear this, please, stop. You’re not helping. What’s gotten into you?_ Someone gently touched his arm. When his lids unfolded, no one was there. The wind slowly died off, and the cloth flitted back down and concealed the image once more, as if it had never been there at all. An imperceptible body rubbed against his left side. His fingers looped into a ghostly hand and hung loosely by his thigh. Mabel gaped as she attempted to process what had just happened. _Show yourself._

The first thing to be revealed was the hand. More and more of the man’s body became seeable, spreading from feet to top hat. His face glowered at the girl, displeasure not very well hidden.

“ _You—!_ ” she screamed and marched toward him.

Bill shot out his left hand, palm-first, turquoise flames erupting around and between the fingers like the webbed appendages of a frog. She flinched back a step, frightened. His voice dropped. “Stay back, Shooting Star.”

Shooting Star? That was a new nickname. Dipper didn’t like it, and by the looks of it, neither did Mabel. He was appalled by his behavior. “Bill! Stop it!”

Bill lowered his hand, but a few flames still licked his fingers. His expression was unchanged. “Shooting Star,” mouth agape, glanced hurriedly between their faces and their interlocked fingers. “What… Dipper…”

He was also at a loss for words. “Look, I,” He scratched his neck, his nervous habit. “You were right.”

She didn’t even ask about what. “How did he… Why did he…” She had too many questions already.

Dipper ignored them and continued, unsure of how to do so. “About me… having a crush.”

She stared.

“I did. I _do._ Just, not how you’d think.” Bill made no effort to jump in. He wondered if he was enjoying this. “I don’t know when it happened.”

“Dipper… You, what? Him?”

Nodding, he looked at the floor. Bill’s grip on his hand tightened.

“Is there a problem with that, Shooting Star?” the demon asked.

Again, she was speechless.

The boy wanted to cry. He knew this was a mistake, but what choice did he have? All plans of meeting Bill late at night, of deceit and lies, of hiding away and cutting off his emotions from the world, were blown. What was there to do now?

Suddenly, her mouth closed and her face grew calm. “This is a dream,” she said. “I’ll wake up at Candy and Grenda’s, and this will all be a silly dream.”

Bill growled, “You’re going to wish it was a dream pretty soon.”

“Of course! That’s why _you’re_ here!”

“It’s not a dream,” Dipper interrupted.

She stuck her fingers in her ears. “Quack! Quack! Quack! I am in Dreamland! I am Dream Mabel! Dream Mabel cannot hear you!”

“Mabel, please!” he shouted. She stopped abruptly. He almost lost it. “It’s not a dream. It’s not a dream.”

Standing, unsure of what to do, she looked back and forth between the boys. “So you really are…?” Dipper nodded again, face turning into lava. She looked confused, then mad. “Well _that_ I can handle, but _him?_ This _beast?_ Is my own twin brother really dating this… _thing!_ An extraterrestrial? I mean, god, Dipper, I don’t care who you fall in love with, as long as it’s a _who!_ Or even if it is a _what,_ can’t it at least be a nice what? This is the demon that has tried to kill you, tried to kill _me,_ and now you’re—ugh! Dipper, how could you? How could _you?_ ” She turned on Bill. “Since when do _you_ love? This is all some sick ploy to get him to do something, isn’t it? You’re probably taking advantage of his feelings and manipulating him into, I don’t know, selling you his soul?”

Dipper was fixed on a single speck on the ground. Besides Mabel’s words, it was the only thing in the world that existed. Everything he had ever feared about this, everything he had been told, that no one would understand, that they would disown him, was coming true. The one person he had learned to trust, his own sister, had turned against him. He _was_ going to cry.

Bill let go.

Mabel stormed past them, ripping the tablecloth from the wall. “And _what is this?_ ”

Bill shot his arm up and curled his fingers like he was holding a ball. Mabel flew into the wall behind her. Her hands reached for her throat as strangled gurgles came out. “Don’t you dare insult him again.”

Her legs kicked. “I wasn’t—” she choked. “—insulting him. I was—” She managed a quick breath. “—insulting _you_.”

His hand shook. “Bill! Cut it out! You’re hurting her!” Dipper screamed, even though he knew that was his intention. He pulled on his arm, but the monster was too powerful.

“Learned your lesson yet?” Poor Mabel couldn’t even respond. He released, and the frail girl crumpled to her knees, gasping for air.

Dipper instinctively helped her up. “Bill, what’s the matter with you! How can you do this to my sister?”

Unexpectedly, Bill’s face went slack. All remnants of anger were gone, or at least hidden. He looked at his hands for a moment too long, then flexed them and took a few steps back from the twins. “Pine Tree, I—I don’t know.” Then he gazed up and into his eyes. He couldn’t be positive, but Dipper could’ve sworn that he had given him a look that said, _Help._

Mabel was oblivious. “See?” she sputtered. “This is exactly what I was talking about! He’ll turn on you!”

“It seems to me like _you’re_ the one who’s turned on him,” Bill retorted.

“Don’t trust him!”

Dipper looked between the two people he loved most in the world. God, he hated choosing. Bravery failed him, and he stood, motionless.

“But…” Mabel suddenly whispered, breaths ragged. “Just tell me how. Or when.”

“L-Last night. Yesterday. You were gone. At the store. I had had another dream, and—we met, and—h-he told me how. How to summon him. At first I didn’t want to, then the Daymares—I lost it, and that’s… where _that_ comes in.” He nodded at the triangle. “He came, we talked… That’s about where we’re at now.” He decided to skip over last night.

There was a slight twitch in her eye. “And you… never told me? Because… of this.” She wiped her hands across her eyes. “Oh, god, Dipper, I’m so sorry. It’s just that he’s so evil, and you’re my sweet little brother—”

“He’s not evil, and we’re the same age.”

“Wrong and double wrong.”

Bill stretched his arm and pulled him closer. Dipper stood now under the nook of his arm, and Bill softly kissed the top of his forehead. “He’s not the one in any danger,” he said.

Not even one of Mabel’s good old-fashioned hug-fests would fix this. Despite how good it felt, Dipper broke away. “Please. Give him a chance.” He faced his boyfriend. “You, too.”

“Well what are we supposed to _do_ with him?”

“He’s not a dog, Mabel.”

“I beg to differ!”

“I can take care of myself,” Bill tuned in.

“Oh my god,” Mabel ignored him. “What are Stan and Ford going to say when they find out?”

“What? No no no no no.” Dipper shook his head. “They’re _not_ going to find out. Look at how you took the news. Take that and multiply it by infinity! Ford has been trying to destroy Bill since they first met! Can you even imagine how he’d react to this?” 

     “There was a time when I wanted to destroy him, too. Granted, that feeling hasn’t entirely passed… But you see where I’m going with this.” Mabel shrugged. “I guess I’ll _try_ to tolerate him. No promises!”

Eyes sparkling, Dipper said, “Will you, Mab Mabs?”

She nodded. “Awkward sibling hug?” Her arms stretched out.

He smiled shyly and mirrored the gesture. “Awkward sibling hug.”

The two embraced one another and slapped the other’s back. “Pat pat,” they said mechanically. Upon their release, Dipper turned to Bill, who had stepped back a couple feet.

He spoke sarcastically. “Oh, yay, they _do_ love each other after all!” He clasped his hands.

“This is going to be harder than I thought,” Mabel growled, fists balled by her hips.

“Easy, Shooting Star. It’d be a shame to see you fall.”

Dipper tucked himself back under Bill’s arm. “He doesn’t mean it, Mabs. I swear. He’s different.” Smiling, he rubbed his ear against his collarbone and peered up at him. Returning the grin, Bill dipped down, the tip of his nose touching the top of Dipper’s head. The boy giggled.

“Well _that’s_ certainly different.” Mabel looked away. The creature glanced at her. “I guess he can stay here until everyone gets back, as long as he promises not to cause any mischief. When they do return tomorrow, he’s your problem.”

Bill wrapped his other arm around her brother’s chest, giving him room to breathe but restricting him from moving anywhere. He propped his chin on his hat. “Thank you, Mabel,” Dipper whispered. “Thank you.” His face flushed.

“Just… try to keep all _that_ ,” She moved her hand in the air like she was washing a window. “at a minimum.” Eye shimmering a tinted orange, Bill glared at her, then turned his attention back to Dipper. The eye cooled back to a warm brown the color of the children’s hair. “Right. Well, I’m just gonna go…” She side-stepped awkwardly around the couple. “You two just keep on doing what you’re doing…” Walking backward to see them as long as possible, she exited the kitchen.

“She’s gone,” Bill observed.

“I know.”

“You did well, kid. I’m proud.”

“I know.”

“Cocky. Looks like I’m rubbing off on you.”

“I know.” He was close enough to Bill’s chest to hear his heartbeat. Its predictability was soothing, like a metronome. “You could’ve handled that better, though.”

“Could I? As was mentioned, I’m kind of evil.”

“Not to me.” He pulled away and placed his palms on his boyfriend’s chest. “You’re perfect to me.”

“I told you not to get sappy on me, Pine Tree.”

“Shut up, you dreamy corn chip demon. Now let’s get out of here.” He grabbed Bill by his gloved hand and dragged him to the living room. Mabel was sprawled across the couch with her eyes glued to the TV.

“Oh, hey, Dip—! Oh, yeah. Hi, Bill.”

“Shooting Star.”

“You don’t have to call me that.”

“I don’t have to _do_ anything.”

The tension was forming rapidly like wildfire. “Hey, Mabel,” Dipper interrupted. “Can we binge-watch with you?”

She looked at the man next to him. “Sure.” Clearing a spot next to her, she sat up, but realized too late that they weren’t interested in the couch.

Bill sat in the armchair, and Dipper climbed on after him. He sat back against Bill as the demon bent his knees up on either side of him, forming two tent shapes. Dipper nuzzled his head into Bill’s shoulderblade as he brought his arms around him, keeping the child in a hug. He leaned back and enjoyed the concave of Bill’s collarbone, both beaming.

Gagging, Mabel diverted her attention elsewhere. Her eyes darted between her twin and the television. The couple was laughing every now and then. Bill leaned over, and his hair hung in Dipper’s eyes. “Ack! You’re going to make me sneeze!” Bill continued, anyway. 

“If this is it at a minimum, life’s not worth living.” Mabel stood and tugged at her skirt. “You two have fun. I’m gonna go barf.” She whirled around and stomped upstairs. The boys watched her.

The heart hanging by a mere string on Dipper’s ribs dropped into his stomach like a basketball into water. Honestly, he was really disappointed she left. He was hoping the three of them could get along, or that she could fully accept how things were. Maybe they could finally watch _Miss Stery._ But it looked like he was wrong. As usual. It obviously didn’t bother Bill. “I don’t get it,” he sighed. “She’s always the one saying ‘love is spontaneous’ and ‘you can’t understand love’.”

“Yup. Love’s a jerk.”

This struck Dipper. “Oh.”

Bill began to rock. “But it’s a strong believer in karma.”

Dipper went along with the gentle teetering of his body. “That doesn’t really make me feel better.”

“It wasn’t supposed to, kid.” Silence. “Tell me about your family.”

“My family?”

“And your friends. You know, the ones that want to kill me.”  

“They don’t want to _kill_ you.”

“Pine Tree. Please.”

“ _Banish_ or _disintegrate_ would be a better word.”

“Just tell me about them.”

Dipper, excited to get to share something personal with Bill, scooted up a bit like a girl about to play Truth or Dare at a slumber party. “Well,” he rambled. “There are my great uncles, Stan and Ford. Not _Stanford_. Stan _and_ Ford. Although one of them _is_ named Stanford, but we don’t call him that. Then there’s McGucket. Sometimes we call him Fiddleford. That’s his first name. He’s an old college pal of Ford’s. There’s also Soos. You’ll learn to like him. He takes some getting used to. And of course I can’t forget about Robbie and Wendy—”

“The redhead you got all giddy around?”

“Er…” His cheeks prickled. “No?” Dang it, why was he bad at lying?

“I think you’re forgetting I used to read your mind. I think you’re forgetting I still read your mind.”

Dipper stopped thinking. “That’s passed. It was just a phase.”

“I’ll say.”

It was true. Dipper _did_ have a crush on Wendy, but that was a long time ago. Things had certainly changed since then, but it was still embarrassing to think about it, especially since she kind of turned him down. “Besides, she’s dating Robbie now.”

“The douche?”

“That’s the one.”

Bill scoffed. “So they’re all—?”

 _“Are you miserable?”_ A commercial suddenly blared from the TV. _“Then you need to meet Gideon!”_

“ _Ick,_ ” Dipper spat. “Speaking of douches.”

Bill was staring at the Tent of Telepathy logo proudly displayed on the screen. “What makes him so special?”

“He’s just some phony ‘child psychic’ that enjoys scamming others. Strangely similar to my Grunkle Stan, but not as likable.”

“How do you know he’s a fake? We communicate telepathically.”

“Because one, he sucks at his job, and two, I haven’t heard his voice in my head. Yet. Thank god.”  

“Is he around here?” He was still gazing blankly at the television.

“Yeah. His tent’s right down the road. He had this huge crush on Mabel and came by every day. Pretty creepy.”

“ _Really?_ ” Bill spoke as if Dipper was an idiot. “You’re joking, right?”

“Oh, don’t act like what you did wasn’t creepy.”

Bill continued, taking the insult with pleasure. “Does he still come by?”

“Way too often.” Bill sat all the way up, making Dipper slide down. “Something wrong?”

“Kid, is anything ever right?” The midday glow of afternoon filtered in through the blinds draped over the window panes. Dipper usually didn’t sit like this, and his back was becoming sore. He wondered when the last time he had a shower was.

“Do you mind if I go to the bathroom? My hair feels like an oil slide. It’ll only be twenty minutes.” He planted his feet on the floorboards and rocked up. “You can watch TV. And there are snacks in the kitchen.”

“I don’t need food.”

“Maybe not right now. But you will eventually. Whether you like it or not, I think you’re becoming human.”

“Not possible.”

“Part human, at the very least.”

“I already am part human.”

“Then _more_ part human. Like, maybe from half to three-fourths human.”

“This is why your sister’s the smart one.”  

“ _My sister is not—!_ Ugh, whatever. See you in twenty minutes. You going to be okay alone?”

“I’ve been alone for one trillion years. Twenty minutes isn’t going to push me over the edge. Now go. Do your mortal cleansing.” He dismissed him with a flick of the wrist and a small show of sparks just to flaunt his power.

Dipper raced up the steps and into the bathroom. It really needed to be cleaned. Grunge chipped off the knobs of the shower as he twisted them. Water spurted from the nozzle, thick and cold. He twirled it to the left. The water grew toasty, so he pulled a stub that made the water rain from the showerhead. Placing his hat near the sink, Dipper took a look in the mirror. Faint crescent moons were sewn to his bottom lids. His hair, usually sitting in a flop on his scalp, was strewn about like a used mop. The Big Dipper birthmark on his forehead peeked out from under a tuft of the mud-colored hair, reminding him of his nickname’s origin. What had happened to him? He used to be a regular kid. Well, _mostly_ regular. Sure, he was picked on and never really had a true friend besides Mabel, but that was something actually normal kids did go through. They were teased by bullies. He was stalked by a demon. And he liked it.

He looked at the pine tree on his hat. What was the deal with all those symbols? Why were they there, and how did they keep popping up everywhere? And what the heck did they even mean?

Rubbing the sleep and worries away from his eyes, Dipper turned back to the shower, stripping himself of his vest and other garments. The water roared, but he thought he heard something downstairs. The noise was small, but he could’ve sworn it was the squeak of a door.

~~~~~

When he stepped out, Dipper dried his newly freshened hair and changed into some clean clothes he kept under the sink. He tucked the baseball cap onto his head, used the bathroom, and went to his room.

“Hey, Mabes!” She was sitting cross-legged on her “cotton candy” bed, stuffed turtle in one hand, magazine in the other.

“Hi, Dippin’ Dots.” She didn’t look up until her comment wasn’t followed by a smart remark. “Where’s Bill?”

“Downstairs. You know, gays don’t have to spend every second of their lives together. That’s a vicious stereotype. We can be apart.” Was that the first time he had called himself that to her?

Mabel smiled. Relief flooded his veins. “Glad to hear it.” She bounced off the bed and strode over to him. “And so is Turt-Turt!” She jiggled the turtle in front of his nose, giggling.

Dipper laughed and drew back. “Aren’t you _ever_ going to rename that thing? He’s had the same dumb name since pre-school.”

“Nope!”

“Fair enough,” he said, throwing the old clothes in the hamper. They were sticky with dirt, sweat, and bad memories. Suddenly, Mabel hugged him from behind, almost knocking him over.

“I’ll keep doing me, as long as you keep doing you,” she said softly. Dipper hugged back as well as he could. Something washed over him in that instant. He almost didn’t recognize it, it had been so long since he felt it: acceptance. “I do understand, Dipper. I really do, whether you believe me or not. I still love you. Don’t you dare think I don’t. It’s okay who you are.”

Dipper didn’t know what to say. Out of nowhere, his heart felt warm and fuzzy, like it was wearing a fur coat. Unbearable happiness took hold of him. She _did_ get it. She really did. All doubts, for the first time, escaped his body. Finally. “Thank you, Mabel… So much.” He found it hard to believe that he thought she would actually shun him, or that she actually wouldn’t love him anymore. “I love you, too. I’m sorry.”

“About _what?_ Don’t be sorry. It’s _okay._ You’re perfect. Really. There’s nothing wrong with you. Trust me, Dippy.”

“That’s not even the slightest bit true.”

“Yes, it is.” She released her bear hug and spun him around. “It doesn’t matter how anyone else feels. It matters how you feel, and if you love someone, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. You don’t get to pick and choose who you love or who loves you. All anyone can do is accept it, and I do. I swear to god I do. This doesn’t change your personality whatsoever, okay?”

He sighed, still wary.

“Dipper. Do you believe me?”

He nodded. “Okay.” He couldn’t hide his joy anymore, and his goofy smile broke loose. It rubbed off on Mabel, and she did the same.

“Finally,” she said, stepping back. “I didn’t want to get all mushy in front of you-know-who. And I’m sorry if I acted harsh. I didn’t mean for it to come across that way.”

“That’s okay,” Dipper responded, remembering the awful feeling he felt. “And really, thank you. For understanding. And giving Bill a chance. And letting him stay here.”

“Whatever makes my brother happy. But if he betrays you, I’m gonna go all Ninja Mabel on his demon butt.”

“Please don’t. I’d rather not see you dead.”

“I could take him!”

“Yeah. You dealt with him beautifully downstairs.”

“That was just a warm-up.” Her face grew serious. “But remember, everybody’s coming back _tomorrow_. You need to have some sort of plan.”

“I know, I know! Calm down, Great Uncle Ford! I’ll think of something. I just need time.”

“Maybe you should ask Bill.”

“All he’d say is that he can take care of himself.”

“He’s got a point, though. Maybe he _would_ be better off lurking around in the woods during the day.”

“But then I’d never see him! I’d have to sneak off at night, and that’s exactly the thing I didn’t want to do.”

Mabel made her focused face, eyebrows knit together like her sweater, lips pouting. “Hmm… Is there any way he can enter your mind again? Maybe he can hang out there and pop out every now and then while no one’s looking. Or is that too weird?”

“I don’t know… Kind of… But it might be our only way. I don’t even know if that could work.” Dipper scratched the mosquito bite on his arm. “He refuses to admit it, but I think he’s becoming mortal.”

“Shut. _Up!_ ” She shoved him in the chest. “Are you _serious?_ ”

“I think so. He’ll probably never be _completely_ human, but something pretty close to it. He’s sleeping and drinking, and some of his powers are diminishing.”

“They are? Like what?”

Maybe he shouldn’t have mentioned the last part. How was he supposed to explain to her that her brother now had mind powers? “Um, well, I don’t know _exactly,_ but it’s pretty obvious. And it looks like he’s having a harder time controlling them, which means it’s a safe bet they’re dwindling. All that stuff he did to you this morning? It was just an accident in the heat of the moment. He wouldn’t _actually_ hurt you. He knows how much you mean to me.”

“If you say so. You should probably go check on him now. You’ve been up here for nearly forty minutes.”

“Have I?” Time flew quickly these days. It reminded him of when he was having Daymares. He shivered. “I guess I should. Thanks, Mabe.” He gave her a swift hug and rushed out the door.

 _Clomp! Clomp! Clomp!_ His sneakers were loud as they slapped the wooden boards. The sound of commercials echoed in the hollow room, and the dim glow of the screen distorted the fading daylight. He rounded the corner. “Bill?” He expected to see the man lounging back in the chair, probably doing something like tossing a fireball between his hands or playing with forks. He loved his pain. But the room was empty.

“Uh, Bill?” He let out a nervous chuckle to steady his nerves. He darted to the kitchen. Nothing. Getting a little more worried now, he reentered the living room, hoping Bill was playing a trick on him and had just turned invisible. The only movement came from the TV. He ran his fingers through his hair. _No,_ Dipper thought. _This is just your paranoia. Bill is here, somewhere. Where else would he have gone?_

_“Are you miserable?”_

“Are you kidding me?” he said aloud. “They’re playing that commercial _again?_ When are they gonna—?”

“Hello, Dipper Pines.” A voice cut him short.

The blood streaming through Dipper’s body instinctively curdled. His brain raced wildly. The voice came from behind. It couldn’t have been Bill. It was too creepy, even for him, and not deep enough. Dipper turned, anticipating the worst. When he did, he came eye-to-eye with a mass of snowy white hair. “Down here,” it called.

Dipper tilted his chin down, suddenly a lot less scared. The threat was taken away at the sight of white. Then he realized something, and the sense of urgency returned. “Gideon, how did you get in my house?”

Gideon was probably an entire foot shorter. He wore a tiny sky blue suit and brown dress shoes. His hair, despite them being the same age, was paper white and swooshed up in a massive quiff, like a boy band stylist had taken him hostage. Upon his collarbone he bore a stringy bolo tie with a shiny emerald-like stone in the center. Stitched on the flap of his shirt was his Tent of Telepathy logo: a star with just one eye. Wasn’t that one of the symbols? “I have my ways.”

“Why doesn’t anyone ever answer my questions!”

“Do you expect me to answer that?”

“Not really. That one was rhetorical.”

“Oh. Well I wasn’t going to!”

“What do you want now, Gideon? Mabel’s not interested, you creep. Get out of our house!” He wondered if he had seen Bill before he disappeared. Or if he was the reason why he disappeared. Did he dare risk confronting him, though?

“Oh, nothin’,” he chuckled. “I just thought I’d drop by. Haven’t seen you in a while.”

“That was intentional.”

“Aw, now don’t be a sour sport!” He fingered the stone on his tie. “So tell me. Whatcha been up to?”

“Well I was about to kick this stalker out of my house, but other than that my day’s been pretty uneventful.”

Gideon chuckled again and looked up from the stone. “Oh, Dipper. We both know that’s not true.” Did he mean about kicking him out or the uneventful part? Because if it was the latter, he was right. The idea of him knowing about everything that was happening gave him chills. _Bill, where are you?_ “We can make this day a lot more exciting. We just have to try.” He clutched the tie, and a lamp that sat behind him coated itself in a foam green aura. It rose from the table and levitated.

“What are you—How?” Dipper stepped back, mouth agape.

“It’s time you stopped underestimating those around you.” Gideon was grinning sadistically.

“What’s the matter with you, you little—?” Something in his throat cut him off. His kneecaps melted into pudding and he began to sway. His Adam’s apple bobbled. It felt like he had swallowed a tennis ball.

The lamp’s bulb burst. Glass shattered and scattered across the ground, but the rest of the lamp remained hovering, along with a book, soda can, and picture frame that had joined the party. Dipper tried to walk, but his feet were glued to the floor. His stomach and arms filled with cement. He couldn’t talk or move, but his eyes darted frantically about as more and more objects rose from their places, emitting a hazy light. They finally landed on Gideon as if to ask, _What the heck is happening?_

Gideon gave a maniac laugh. The weight of his body got heavier and it was harder to stand. He started sinking, slowly, to the earth. It spread from his bones to his skin within seconds. _Whack!_ Dipper realized he hit the ground after he heard it happen. He grasped for air. _Bill, help._

The last thing he saw was Gideon’s shoes before he blacked out.

~~~~~

“That’s it. Open your eyes, boy, nice and easy.”

Dipper’s eyes drifted open, then immediately fell back down. A drum was constantly going off in his head, rattling his skull.

“Forget it. He’s too weak. We’ll be lucky if he wakes up in the next hour.” A different voice pierced the air, shriller in pitch.

Stubborn Dipper, wanting to prove whoever it was wrong, forced his lids to stay ajar. It stung, but the proud feeling was worth it.

For a few seconds.

He had to blink a few times to sharpen the blurb of colors, but when he did, he saw the bulk of hair that was undeniably Gideon’s. What he didn’t expect to see was the girl standing next to him. “Pffaca…?” His vocal cords were tangled in a heap.

This brought glee to Gideon’s face. “Dipper, I believe you’ve met Pacifica?”

“Hi, Dipper,” she responded in a snobby tone, waving her fingers with one hand and her other on her hip.

He started to walk toward them, but it was then that he realized he couldn’t stand up. He glimpsed down. His limbs were strapped to a chair with a thick piece of rope that coiled back on itself multiple times. This had bad written all over it. “Whaaa… armf you… dawinm…?” He could only speak slowly. It annoyed him.

“Loosen up on him, Gideon. I can hardly understand what he’s saying.” Pacifica whipped her bleach blond hair and glanced at her colleague. There was something different about her. Instead of wearing her standard purple layers, she had on a bulky, furry sweater that depicted a llama on the front.

“Fine.” Gideon rubbed his bolo tie, and the swelling in Dipper’s throat minimized.

“What are you _doing?_ ” he immediately snapped. “Have you guys officially gone insane? Okay, I can see you being this weird, Gideon, but _you,_ Pacifica?”

“I change my mind. I like him better silent,” the girl sneered sarcastically.

Anger bubbled. “And where am I? Why am I tied to a freaking chair? And where’s—?” He stopped himself.

“Where’s _who?_ ” Gideon inquired.

“Mabel. Where’s my sister?” It wasn’t lying. He did want to know.

“She’s fine. She’s at the Mystery Shack, on her bed, reading a book. Probably hasn’t even noticed you’re gone.”

“Tell me what you’ve done with me! Now!”

“Wow. I never noticed how cute he is when he’s mad,” Pacifica snorted.

_I swear, if she calls me a kitten…_

“ _Tell. Me._ ”

“Yeesh, all right.” She put her hands in the air in mock surrender. “Relax. We’ll tell you. You want to do the honors?” She turned to Gideon.

“With pleasure.” He took a step closer to Dipper, trying to come across as threatening, but failing miserably due to his height. “There’s something different about you, boy. I can sense it. Something’s been going on. You’re hiding something.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play games with me!” The chair hovered an inch off the ground and plopped back down. “I’ve been watching you. You’re up to something, something magical, and I’m going to find out what it is!”

“I swear I have no idea what you’re talking about!” He knew exactly what he was talking about. The Daymares? The demon living in his house? Everything about those screamed magic. They had to be what he was referring to. “And why is Pacifica here?”

“And miss out on all the fun? No way! I’m sick of being left out of all the good stuff! I’m never a part of this mystic hoo-hah! Although I have to say, it’s a lot dirtier than I expected. That’s why I wore this old llama hair sweater,” Pacifica answered.

“I’ve agreed to let her tag along, given that she takes my side, of course.”

“Let me get this straight.” Dipper shook his head. “You think I’m hiding some magic powers or something, so you decided to kidnap me and tie me to a chair in some abandoned territory, and _you_ were feeling lonely and wanted join in just for the fun of it, and now you’re both interrogating me in hopes of discovering my deepest secrets?”

“Yeah, that’s pretty much what we just said,” replied Gideon.

“You guys are crazy!”

”I am _not_ crazy!”

Dipper began to rock in his seat, his anxiety setting in. How long had he been away from home? What happened to Bill? He thought of a question he could easily get the answer to. “Where are we, anyway?”

“What? You don’t recognize it?”

Dipper took a closer look around. It was a large open room with a very high ceiling, cluttered with cardboard boxes of Gideon’s cheesy merchandise. There were a few windows, but they were too high to see much. The sky was a royal blue blanket freckled with budding stars. It was late. To one side was a set of double doors that stood slightly ajar. Dipper wondered why they neglected to close them. “Is this some sort of room in the back of the Tent of Telepathy?”

“No, but good guess. We’re in a warehouse not far from it. Gotta keep my stock somewhere. People want it so much I never seem to have enough.” He chuckled.

Pacifica flipped her hair impatiently. “Enough stalling! Tell us what you’re up to!”

“I’m not up to anything!”

“Stop lying!” Gideon pointed a chubby finger at him. “There’s always something weird going on in this town, and you always seem to be the cause of it! If you’re not up to anything, then there’s something freaky about you!” Something flickered across his face like he had a brilliant idea. He lowered his finger. “Pacifica,” he spoke calmly. “Would you mind untying our guest? He looks uncomfortable.” She did as she was told and tossed the rope on the floor when done. “Go ahead, Dipper. Stand up. Stretch. You look sore.”

Hesitantly, he rose to his feet. Obviously, some strange plan of Gideon’s was afoot. Nonetheless, his butt was asleep.

“Feel better?”

“Not really.”

“Good, good. Now I’m going to give you one last chance. Tell me. What have you been doing lately?”

Dipper ignored the threat. “What have _I_ been doing lately? What have _you_ been doing lately? Since when can you levitate things?” He pushed the hair out of his eyes.

“”Oh, Dipper Pines. There are so many secrets you never even knew could exist. You think you know all there is that should be known, but you can’t begin to fathom what lies beyond the mysteries you solve. That was your last chance. And you blew it.”

His hand clutched the stone embedded in his bolo tie. It glowed into a foamy green, and the aura of the same color radiated around it. Pacifica looked amused. Realizing his mistake, Dipper panicked. His only option was to get out of there. He didn’t stand a chance alone. He bolted for the door, feet slapping the cemented floor. He had only made it a step before the hollow echo of his footsteps ceased. His legs were still spinning, like he was riding a bicycle, but he wasn’t going anywhere. The green mist enveloped him as he began to float up. His body stiffened automatically and his back and limbs straightened. He winced at the pain. Ten, twenty, thirty feet up he hovered. Gideon and Pacifica were dots on the ground. His pulse quickened. He knew what was coming next.

Pacifica glanced worriedly at her colleague, but she didn’t say anything. “You’ve trifled with us for the last time!” hollered Gideon. “It’s about time we and everyone else in this cursed town were rid of you!” He released the tie. Then—

Dipper fell.

He let out a scream, a girly one, but filled with terror nonetheless. His back faced the floor. All he could see in the split second he kept his eyes open was the ceiling moving farther and farther away. His limbs stretched toward it, wanting desperately to grab a hold of it, but to no avail. Flapping his clothes, the wind billowed about him. Nothing else could be heard. It filled his ears and stole his breath. He cringed, waiting for the contact with hard, cold cement—and death.

He landed.

Dipper’s neck snapped backward with the impact. He yelped and tensed his body even more. It was softer than he thought. He bounced a bit before finally becoming motionless. Not much pain seized his body, and he knew then that he was already dead. _It’s just as crummy as life,_ he thought.

His arms reached for the floor, but found only air as they dangled there. He wasn’t on the ground. He parted his lids. Towering above him was the underside of a chin. The face standing over him stared straight ahead. Dipper was being held in the arms of a stranger, bridal-style. Someone had caught him.

“Who is _that?_ ” he heard Pacifica screech.

“By golly…” Gideon murmured.

A blurb of yellow came into focus. Suddenly, a flash of red glimmered as the man’s eye—his _only_ eye—burst into the color. He glowered at the two kids. His voice was unnaturally deep, a tone that no human could manage. It sounded familiar to someone else he knew when he was mad. “What. Do you think. You’re _doing!_ ” Pure rage trembled in the voice. On the last word, a cluster of crimson flames surged behind him.

Dipper squinted to block out the vibrant light as he craned his neck for a better view of the stranger’s face. “Is that you, Bill?” His voice was croaky.

The man looked at him for the first time, fire continuing to lick his back. His eye softened to brown. “Who else do you know that can create fire?”

“I don’t know who can do what anymore,” he mumbled to himself.

Bill, not forgetting his anger, shot his head back up, his eye blistering back to the color of blood. More flames grew around the edge of the room. “I asked you a question.” His voice was deep again.    

“Stay back, demon!” Gideon threatened. He was obviously scared, but he still wore a mask of determination. “I’m warning you!”

Pacifica hid herself behind him. “I said, who _is_ that?” She shielded her eyes from the burning light.

“Bill! He’s a psychotic dream demon from a different dimension! And it looks like he’s on the _boy’s_ side! His powers are unlimited!”

Dipper knew this wasn’t true, but he kept his mouth shut. “Put me down, Bill.”

He obeyed, sliding the boy out of his arms. He fell a couple inches and stumbled on his toes before yanking on Bill’s sleeve to support himself. Bill placed his long-fingered hand on the small of his back. It was miraculous how he didn’t break a sweat in formal attire, which was basically his casual attire, in the raging heat. Dipper’s forehead beaded.

Bill took a menacing step in the direction of his boyfriend’s captors. His fists were balled by his sides, an orb of fire circling them. “Don’t you. _Ever._ Touch. Him. Again!” He was in mid-step, but unexpectedly recoiled sharply. His ruby eye twitched. He threw his fiery hands to his face. “Ewgh!” he cried. He took another few steps back.

“Bill?” Dipper rushed to his side, but only made half the distance before he started to float again.

“No you don’t! You stay out of this!” Gideon was rubbing the stone.

Bill looked up and snarled harder. His pupil became thinner and taller. Running forward, he reached for Dipper’s tiny, extended hand, but barely missed his bony fingers before he drifted too far up. He struck a beam of lightning at Gideon’s hand. Pacifica screamed just as much as he did.

“Ouch! My cutie fingers!” His grip on the tie faltered, and Dipper began to fall again. Luckily, he only made it ten feet off the ground this time, and Bill caught him easily by the armpits. He squealed a little as he slammed into him.

“You know, you squeal like a—”

“Don’t say it.” Bill lowered him, slowly this time, and brushed his lips against the birthmark on his face. “Where have you been?” he asked quickly. 

“I was on an… errand.” This was all he said before he flinched and gripped his skull like he had a migraine. His neck twitched involuntarily.

Dipper was concerned. He never showed pain. Never. “Bill, what’s wr—?”

“Ahh! Gideon! Your stuff is on fire!” Pacifica pointed to the boxes that lined the walls.

“My merch!” Sure enough, the cardboard withered away, and the goods inside were turning into smoke and ash. While he was distracted, Bill struck another bolt at him, being more precise this time and landing right on the stone. Its smooth surface cracked. A pale green fog steamed from the gap and evaporated. Its light stopped shimmering, and now it was just a dull, broken rock on a stringy tie. It almost looked like a toy. “No! My powers!”

“Gideon!” Pacifica was annoyed now. “You let him destroy the one source of your power? And with a puny electric shock? Why would you put that in plain sight?”

“It’s a bolo tie! Where else am I supposed to put it? In my shoe? And you try defending yourself against _him!_ ”

“I am! Ugh, why did I wear this sweltering sweater?” She clutched his arm in fear, but Bill didn’t even notice the children trembling before him. Dipper hardly did, either. They were in a world of their own.

“Bill, what’s the matter?” he cried.

The demon was grunting to himself through clenched teeth and running his gloves through his blond hair. He wobbled a few feet back from everyone, and the spasms eased up. When he opened his eye, it simmered to a muddy brown, the golden flecks scattered throughout shimmering.

After running up next to him, Dipper planted his hand on the other man’s arm. “Bill, are you okay?”

“Have you not figured it out yet, kid?” he snapped back.

He retracted his hand instinctively. It was hard for Dipper to hide his hurt. “What do you mean? I was just—”

There was a loud bang at the front of the room. The doors had been kicked open, a mass of people tumbling in through the one spot not guarded by fire. Bill took one look at the crowd, astonished, and ran backward. The children were equally as shocked. “Dipper!” one of the people shouted worriedly.

Mabel came rushing toward him, but Bill’s eye was already scorching again. “S-stay _away!_ ” he growled. Palms facing the ceiling, he strained himself to raise his hands above his head. Lightning bolts struck from the ground up.

“Dipper, what in earth’s name has happened?” The voice belonged to someone in the group that had just entered. It was gruff and gravelly, probably about sixty years old. Dipper acknowledged them for the first time.

“Great Uncle Ford?”

“Guess who got home early!” Mabel cried a bit too cheerfully.

Crowded around Ford were Stan, Soos, Wendy, Robbie, and McGucket, who were all taking in the post-apocalyptic-looking scene. “Woah, dudes. When Mabel Dawg said you were missing, I figured we’d be taking a nice walk in the woods looking for you, not traveling to some creepy possessed warehouse,” Soos said.   

“How did you know where I was? _I_ didn’t even know where I was!” Dipper had to scream to be heard over the roar of the flames.

Mabel answered, “Pacifica’s high heels left little footprints in the mud.”

“ _What?_ ” Pacifica lifted her shoe and observed the dirt caked on it. “Oh, ew! This is never going to come out!”

“Pacifica, _now_ look what you’ve done!” Gideon scolded.

“What _I’ve_ done? At least I’m not the one who broke the amulet!”

“I didn’t break it. Bill did!” The two were going at each other’s throats in the midst of Bill’s destruction.

“Dipper, stand back!” Stan called. “We’ll get you out of there!” He began to charge forward.

“Wait, stop!” Dipper shouted.

“He’s right, Stan,” Ford stopped his twin. “Bill’s too powerful to just charge at him like a bull!”

“Dipper’s in there! We can’t just leave him!” He tore his arm away and started running for his nephew. He was now only a few yards from Bill. The demon’s head lurched violently. His body twisted sideways as he groaned in pain. Stan stopped where he was.

“Bill, what’s happening to you?” Dipper cried.

 

“Oh, c-come on, P-P-Pine Tree!” Bill stuttered. “Is it not obv-vious? It’s those blasted symbols! You and y-y-your forsaken fa-amily!” He gripped his temples and continued to twitch, rocking on his heels.

The symbols. Everyone in the room represented one of them. Of course. All those times he had imagined them weren’t fake. Dipper and his friends _were_ the symbols: Ford was the hand, Stan the fish-shape, Soos the question mark, Wendy the ice, Robbie the heart, Pacifica the llama, Gideon the star, McGucket the glasses, Mabel the shooting star, and he the tree. The pine tree. How could he not see it before? He was a failure, and right now, he was failing Bill. It was then that it became obvious what the symbols _really_ meant, what he had been trying to uncover since he first saw them hanging in his Mindscape tree. The more there were, and the closer they got to the demon, it hurt him more and more. They were Bill’s weakness.

His only weakness.

“Bill…” He stepped toward him. The demon’s knees buckled, and he toppled to the cement. He crawled on his back and scrambled back.

“No, Pine Tree, you’re only making it _worse!_ ” His voice dropped in and out of octaves, but on the last word it sounded virtual, like the glitch in a computer virus. For a second, his face pixelated and blurred. But it was gone as fast as it came.

Dipper stepped back. He almost forgot already that _he_ was one of the symbols. He couldn’t even go near his boyfriend while he fell victim to a seizure outbreak. At least, not while the others were around him… “Bill, what happens if we’re all directly near you at once?”

Bill looked up slowly. “Then goodbye, kid.” His face was unlike any other. His eyebrows were sagging arches, and his lip was curled back, but not in a snarl. Dipper recognized the face from pretty much any other person he had ever known. Bill was scared.

Turning, he knew what had to be done. “Grunkle Stan, stop!” He pushed on his chest to shove him back with the others. “You’re hurting him!”

“Dipper, that’s kind of the point,” Wendy said.

“Yeah, not cool, man,” Robbie joined in.

Oh, right. They didn’t know about them. It was only Mabel.

“Dipper, have you gone _insane?_ Are you _protecting_ him?” Stan pushed his head back with ease.

“N-no! I—I just—” He glanced at Mabel. She gave a look that said, _What are you looking at me for?_ He sighed. “You can’t hurt him. You just can’t.”

“We finally know his weakness!” Ford protested. “All we have to do is encircle him and he’ll be _dead!_ ” Dipper flinched at the word.

 _Can you hang in there longer, Bill?_ There was no response.

“You have to trust me!” he urged. “Please, for just this once in my life, even if you never listen to me again, _trust me!_ ” Forcing down the pool of water behind his eyes, he bit his lip.

It was McGucket in his southern accent who spoke first. ”Sorry, kiddo, but that demon’s been the cause of my scrabdoodliness for over thirty dadgum years. It’s time he goes.”

“But—”

“Sorry, Dipper,” interrupted Grunkle Stan. “But we’re the adults here. We know what’s best.” He walked closer to Bill, and everyone else except Mabel followed.

There was no way he was going to push them all back. He had no choice but to throw himself in front of Bill. The man tried to shoot something from his fist, but only sparks fizzed out. He looked at his hand, confused and trembling, and tried again, but gained no new results. His body jerked. His head was thrust to the side as he clawed at the air, screaming. His voice and body glitched in and out of a rainbow of colors like a TV losing satellite connection. Dipper held out his arms to the crowd and sternly said, “No.”

Gideon, who was now beside him, pushed him out of the way. “This obviously means a lot to you. Maybe this will make you talk.”

Stan turned to him. “What? You think we’re going to pass up slaughtering this nuisance? I’m not stopping!” And he didn’t.

Screaming, Dipper tumbled back onto Bill, who was quickly losing it. He tried to get up, but Bill clutched his arm. “Pine Tree,” he whimpered, digging his face into his shoulder. “It hurts.”

“Stanley, do something! He has Dipper!” Ford shouted across the room, breaking into a sprint.

Stan yanked the boy from Bill’s grip, which was surprisingly weak. Dipper flew for a moment, then landed on his feet. He turned to see Bill scooting back to the far corner, trying to get away.  Dipper, tears brimming, couldn’t stand to see him like this anymore and yelled, “Bill, _run!_ ”  

The demon’s legs kicked as he tried to place them steadily on the ground. The continuing spasms slashed any chance of that. He pushed himself up a few inches with his arms, probably hoping to do some miraculous flip, but crashed back onto the hard pavement. He couldn’t even stand up.

Ford had arrived by Dipper’s side and grabbed his shoulders, resisting his struggling. “Dipper, listen to me! I know you have a big heart, but you have to see that he’s evil! He’s a creature from the Nightmare Realm that wants to conquer our dominion! He’s _literally_ a monster! We can get rid of him now, but we’ll need your help!” Bill was right. They _did_ want to kill him.

He picked him up by the armpits, and his legs kicked at the air. “Great Uncle Ford, put me _down!_ ” He wasn’t as obedient as Bill had been. Holding his great-nephew, he and the others marched, almost mindlessly, to the monster they sought to destroy. Fire caressed the ceiling. Luckily, there was nothing flammable in the center of the room.

“Maybe you should just leave him alone…” Mabel helped, but Dipper must have been the only one that heard.

Limbs flailing, he felt like a toddler having temper-tantrum. A new feeling prickled in his head: anger. He elbowed his uncle, hard, in the chest, knocking the breath out of his old lungs. Guilt tugged at his heartstrings, but there was no other option. Ford’s grip faltered, which gave Dipper just enough time to pry his fingers away. He slid past his arms and landed on his knees, scraping the skin. Blood droplets seeped through.

He kicked at the man’s leg to distract him, then got to his feet and ran to Bill. There was no use fighting the others off. “Bill, take my hand!”

Bill reached for it, but his fingertips withered away before him, fluttering like ash into the surrounding flames. Dipper was horrified and grabbed it anyway. It felt ghostly; he could feel them touch his skin, vaguely, but there was nothing there. He meant to help him up, but Bill lugged him down onto his chest. “Kid, i-i-it’s over,” he said. “Your famil-ly’s p-psycho.”

“No, it’s not over!” Water bubbled on his bottom lids like someone overfilling a bottle. He sobbed. “It’s not…”

Bill’s eye color changed again, simmering from maroon to brown to pale yellow. It sparkled like melting ice as his facial expression showed a hint of hope. “It d-doesn’t-t ha-a-ave to be.”

Dipper sniffed. “What do you mea—?”

“Be careful, little dude!” Soos hollered at him.

Dipper shot his head back to face everyone. They were all staring at them. “He. Is. Not. _Evil!_ ” The tear rolling down his cheek pacified his intimidation. He turned back to his boyfriend. “No no no no no. Please, Bill, _please_ no. _Please_.” There was nothing else to say.

Something echoed in his skull. It vibrated and ricocheted off the sides. _Come join me._

_What?_

He held the boy’s face in his hands, his invisible fingertips grazing his earlobes. “You can come with me. I-If you want to. I can do that-t.”

“You can?”

Bill nodded, voluntarily at first, before it turned into another muscle spasm. He could take him with him, wherever he was going. How could he do that? Should he do it? Wouldn’t that mean he’d never see his friends or family again? Wouldn’t that mean he’d be _dead?_

 _According to the mortal definition, technically yes._ Bill stared him straight in the eye. He still looked scared. The pain of seeing him like that was too much to bear. It reminded him of when he had to look after him after his summoning. Dipper’s heart lurched and tore in two.

“I can really come?” The conversation was just between them. They spoke at a normal volume, which was too quiet for the others to hear over the chaos.

“Don’t worry, dude, we’re coming for you!” Wendy dashed in the direction of the couple.

Bill grunted and clenched his teeth. Dipper rolled over, his back on Bill’s chest. His toes did the same as his fingers, turning to papery ash. “Don’t come any closer!” the child screamed. “Please! I’m _begging_ you!”

No one would listen. His chest crumpled with the hopeless realization. They all came closer like zombies, all except for Mabel, who hung back. She understood. But she was the only one. How could he ever have doubted her? It didn’t matter, though. She was still in the room, and she was making things worse. Just like he was.

Bill’s entire body convulsed, shivering like his skin was turning to solid ice. Dipper knew how hard it must’ve been for him to show how weak he was. It was one of his greatest fears. He craned his neck to look at him. _Bill?_ Nothing. He couldn’t hear him. He had to talk. “Bill?”

The creature opened his eye through the pain. Both the iris and the white glowed like yellow sunshine, with a cat-like pupil. In that moment, Dipper knew. Something ripped its way from the inside of his heart. The feeling pleased him. Everything was numb. His lip quivered as he formed the words in his head. Bill was dying, and so was his happiness. Mabel was the only one who understood even a little bit how he felt, and she wasn’t even helping. Everyone else wanted to _murder_ his boyfriend. There was no way they’d ever accept him after this. How could they just ignore his pleads the way they did? Just _once_ couldn’t they do something for him? Did they really view him as such an irresponsible kid that they couldn’t believe him when he needed them to most? Were they _really_ his friends? Could he _actually_ trust them? Were _they_ the ones manipulating him? The migraine in his brain thickened with the formation of new conspiracies. He imagined life without Bill. He had been a part of it for so long that it seemed impossible. It felt like his heart was going through a funnel.

“Enough!” He heard Mabel screaming at the rest of them, but he didn’t bother to look. “Do you really want to kill your nephew’s boyfriend?”

“ _What!_ ” Stan. Dipper didn’t even care.

Bill wavered in and out of existence like the screen of a buggy computer, but the boy made eye contact with him as best as he could. He spoke with unexpected confidence. “Take me with you.”

There was a pause. The pupil shifted, balling itself into a circle. The top split apart, tearing itself down the middle and stopping halfway through. The two halves spread out like a butterfly’s wings. Bill’s pupil was a heart.

Dipper couldn’t believe how happy he made him feel. The smile on his upset expression looked out of place. Bill wrapped his twitching arms around him, warming his skin as he faced the group again. They had all stopped. They stared, eyes wide, appalled and confused.

Then he felt it.

He gasped and yelped at the same time. Pain pulsed in his veins instead of blood. He began to twitch himself, his body controlling itself. Dipper realized how strong Bill was being; it was much worse than he made it look. Trembling like a kicked puppy, he shrank into Bill’s clothes. The man squeezed him tighter. His heart jumped, but he didn’t know if that was from Bill’ gesture or not. He could feel Bill’s own heartbeat pace through his ribs. The world distorted itself. Colors seemed brighter. His senses strengthened; he became more sensitive to everything. Every touch, every sound—they all hurt. Knives pierced his stomach. He could feel every molecule self-disassemble, twisting and twirling everywhere within him. They curled rapidly. Biting his tongue, he wheezed and hyperventilated.

_Hang in there, Pine Tree. Pain is hilarious._

Dipper opened his eyes, adjusting to the vibrant light. He watched as his skin blurred into colorful blobs. The fire surging around the walls diminished and sputtered into dense smoke, then puffed into white clouds and evaporated. His vision speckled and glazed over. Bill hugged him as hard as he could as Dipper’s breaths became deep and ragged, keeping him from falling to the side; the spasms grew bigger and more frequent. Needles swam in his bloodstream.

“Dipper!” Ford snapped out of his trance. He ran toward him.

Dipper shook his head violently. “No. No. J-J-J-Just le-et me l-leave. I’m going-g-g with him.” He heard his own voice crack and glitch. Ford stopped in front of him. The pain only worsened.

“You’re hurt-t-ting your own nephew,” Bill chuckled. “You’re the monster.”

Dipper looked up, making eye contact with every person in the room. His eyes finally landed on Mabel. The depression of never seeing her again, of her being by herself for the rest of her life, struck him. He had already disappointed her, now he was doing it again. He was a failure. She was frozen in place. Her face sagged blankly as her chocolate eyes stared at his. “I’m sorry,” he said. He meant it for everyone, but something about his words were personal with her. “Goodbye.”

Their eyes bored into him, but he looked at his body. His limbs turned into wisps of ash from the bottoms up, as did Bill’s, releasing him from the embrace. His torso gave one last heave before it completely morphed into bubbles of light. They separated, one by one and flew off into different directions into the cool, night air. His eyes weren’t closing, but he saw as if they were. The image of his friends, family, and enemies faded into a haze. A strange sense of calm took hold of him. The hurt subsided; everything had a numb, fluffy feeling to it. There was a sweet smell in the air like sugar. The last thing in his mind was the sight of them all watching. He had no regrets, no matter what they approved of. It was _his_ decision, not theirs. If he wanted to follow this demon, they would have to deal with it.

Dipper no longer felt Bill or the ground beneath him. It felt like he was floating—and maybe he _was_ —but there was nothing to stop it now. It was too late. It was a good thing he hadn’t changed his mind. Bit by bit, his sight waxed into darkness. The splotches grew until they covered everything. There was a feeling of empty air surrounding him. He could no longer breathe; his lungs were missing. Everything was still. Silent. Peaceful.

He enjoyed it.

That was all he remembered. Then the black became blacker. He lost all consciousness, and like that—

Dipper was gone.

~~~~~

There was nothing to see. There was nothing to hear. Something moved. Then he realized that _he_ had moved. This surprised him too much.

Dipper shifted his leg stiffly, twisting the knee. _Ow._ He could feel pain again, that was for sure. Opening his eyes, he sat up and rubbed his head. A bleak, gray wasteland stared back at him. Silence echoed off of nothing. His Mindscape hadn’t changed a bit. Something came up behind him and covered his eyes, something long and black.

“Peek-a-boo.”

Dipper grabbed the objects in front of his eyes, which turned out to be hands, and pulled them over his head, swiveling around. He couldn’t help himself from smiling, mouth open. The other person returned the gesture.

He helped him to his feet. “You did it,” Bill said. He picked him up and spun in a circle, coattails swishing. “You went and freaking did it!”

He put him back on the ground, but he had barely done so before Dipper took him back in his arms, bear hugging him as hard as he could. He was so much shorter than the man that his arms only came halfway up his chest. Bill didn’t even seem to care like he usually would. He wrapped his own arms around the boy and squeezed. “Oh, god. I thought I’d never see you again.”

“I can say the same for you. I didn’t think you’d actually sacrifice yourself for a beast like me.”

Dipper pulled back. “How could I not? You’re my soul.” He paused. “Bill, am I dead?”

He hesitated to speak, but was honest when he did. “Sorry, kid. Technically, yes. There’s no body. It’s here now.”

“Oh.”

Guilt spread across Bill’s face before it lit up. “But I have a surprise for you.”

“A surprise?” Dipper was curious. What “surprise” could he have? “Bill, I don’t want a screaming head.”

“Good. You’re not getting one.” Suddenly, he seized him by the armpits and threw him straight up. Dipper screamed and waited to hit the floor, but the impact never came. He hovered, staring down at Bill. “Surprise!”

“Bill, _what’s happening?_ ”

“You’re… kind of like me now.”

“Say what?”

“You have to _be_ a demon to _die_ like a demon. I had to turn you into one to join me here.”

“I— _what?_ ”

“Surprise!”

“I’m a _demon?_ ’ He floated in the air, moving his arms and getting nowhere. “I can’t get down.”

Bill reached for his hand and pulled on his arm like a rope. Dipper was now perfectly horizontal at eye-level. “It takes practice.”

Dipper gripped his shoulders to steady himself. “I don’t know if I like this.”

“You don’t?” Bill looked a little offended.

“Because I love it.” Cracking a grin, he draped his arms around his neck. “Surprise! What else can I do?”

“Anything you’ve seen me do.”

“Really?”

“Pretty much. Like I said, it takes practice. You sort of work your way up.”

“Wait. So does that mean all of _your_ powers are back?”

He smiled innocently. _I guess you_ are _the smart one._

“You psychotic little—God, you’re cute.” Sighing, he tucked a lock of blond hair behind his ear. Bill’s pupil morphed back into a heart. “Oh my god. Is Bill Cipher actually _blushing?_ ”

“What? No!” He broke their gaze, as if that would take away the crimson on his cheeks. “Don’t be ridiculous, kid! I don’t _blush_. That’s way too mortal for me. No.”

“One too many.”

His pupil went almond-shape again as the eye rolled in its socket. “Fine. At least we’re the same species now. It’s not quite so weird to love you.”

“Love me?”

Bill’s face reddened all over again. “Uh…”

Dipper’s lips came forward and kissed his forehead. “Good. Because I love you, too. And you’ve got to admit, it’s still pretty weird.”

Bill looked back at him. “I like weird.”

“I know.” He waved his legs around. “I still can’t get down.”

“I really want to just leave you there.”

“Please help.”

Satisfied, Bill walked around him and pushed his legs down. Dipper’s feet thumped on the ground, and he fell into Bill’s chest, which was pulsing with his heartbeat. He leaned against him. Joy swelled within him. “Flying’s exhausting.”

“Wimp.”

‘Shut up.” Something else popped in his mind. “Bill, where _were_ you? When I came back from the shower, you were gone, and then you randomly showed up at the warehouse.”

The older man took a deep breath. “I went to find Gideon.”

“ _Gideon?_ ” Was that a joke? After all of this, he discovers that he went on a secret mission to find his arch enemy?

“Yeesh, kid, relax! I can read your thoughts again, remember? I wasn’t working with him or anything. It was obvious he was one of the symbols, and they had already been popping up, and your family was coming home… I had to get rid of _one_ of the symbols before it was too late.”

Dipper was shocked. “Were you going to _kill_ Gideon?”

“No. Not before he tried to kill _you,_ anyway. I was probably just going to scare him off. Make a deal, maybe? I don’t know. I didn’t think it all the way through. But that’s why I was by his warehouse.”

Dipper was silent.

“You’re thinking about them.”

Dipper stopped thinking about them.

“I’m sorry you had to sacrifice yourself. It’s my fault.”

“I didn’t have to sacrifice myself. I chose to. That’s why it’s a sacrifice.”

“You wouldn’t have done it in the first place if I wasn’t such a monster.”

“We’re both monsters now.”

There was a pause. “I don’t like this feeling.”

“What feeling?”

“Guilt.”

“Oh. That. You get used to it.”

“I hope not. That means I’ll feel it more.”

“Heh,” Dipper chuckled. “Yeah…” He sighed.

Bill rubbed Dipper’s head through his hat. “Aw, don’t act like that. It gives me feels. Look, maybe there… _is_ a way for you to see them again?”

The boy lifted his chin. “There is? Don’t play with me.”

“I’m not. We’re both dead, so we can’t take physical forms anymore, but you may be able to visit someone in their Mindscape. That’s kind of what I’m doing now with you, but I don’t have a Mindscape. You may be stuck in yours. I don’t know. I’ve never been dead.”

“You don’t have a Mindscape?”

“I’m a demon.”

“So am I.”

“I’ve always been a demon. Demons don’t sleep. I win.”

“You _did_ sleep.”

“When I was in physical form.” He adjusted his top hat. “But it looks like that’s not happening again.”

“But I can visit them?”

“You can try.”

Dipper almost jumped with excitement as he hugged his boyfriend again. “Oh, Bill, thank you!”

“What are you thanking me for? Nothing’s happened yet.”

“Why can’t you take a compliment?”

“Why can’t you take a mint?” Bill sniffed the air and waved his hand in front of his face.

“Speak for yourself.” Dipper pinched his nose. Tiredly, he started rubbing the rest of his face. “Wait a sec. You’re a demon, and they wanted to kill you for it. Now _I’m_ demon…”

“Your own family’s not going to kill you.”

“You think?”

“Of course. You’re already dead.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it!” Frustrated, he flopped down beside the tree he had forgotten about. “The last time I saw them… I kind of betrayed them.” Bill sat next to him, knees up, elbows overlapping on top. “I basically said, ‘I’d rather die with your arch enemy than help you.’”

Bill pondered this momentarily. “You really think they don’t want to see you? Even after you just _died?_ ”

“I dunno.”

“They do. Trust me. I know everything.” Dipper hated to admit it, but that was true.

“But how am I supposed to get to them?” He looked at Bill doubtfully from under the brim of his hat.

“Leave that to me.”

~~~~~

“Is she asleep?”

“Not yet. You’ll know when she is.” They were gazing into the wormhole that Bill had created between his hands. It showed Mabel in her bed, on the verge of sleep, pillow damp from tears.

“So this is how you enter _my_ Mindscape? With a vortex?” Bill nodded slowly. “So can _I_ make a vortex?”

“I’d rather not see you try. I don’t think you’re ready. You can’t even fly.”

“Flying is hard!”

“It’s like swimming.”

“In air.”

“Exactly. It’s much easier.”

Dipper crossed his arms impatiently and disregarded the insult. “Can I visit them even if they’re awake?”

“No. Your soul is bound to the Mindscape. You can’t enter the physical realm, not even as a ‘ghost.’ You’ll automatically travel to her Mindscape if you try to go anywhere else.”

“What? I just became a demon and now you’re telling me I missed out on all the good stuff?”

“Assuming that this works. Don’t get your hopes up.”

“I never do.”

The image floated in Bill’s hands as they waited. Dipper was getting anxious and started to bounce up and down, but stopped when he thought of something. “Is this going to torture her like it did me?”

“Pine Tree, I am _insulted_. I stopped by to pay you a friendly visit every now and then, and you call that _torture?_ ”

“Only the parts where you _actually tortured me._ ”

“Out of love. And entertainment. Besides, you liked it.”

“Only the emotional parts! And Mabel’s not a masochist.”

“Look, she’ll probably wake up feeling like she didn’t sleep at all, and in a sense you _are_ technically possessing her, but it only gets really bad if you do it often.”

“ _How_ often?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. A few time?”

Dipper’s head spun from the wormhole to Bill. “Wait, what? You’re telling me I can only visit them ‘a few times’?”

“Only if you don’t want to drive them crazy. And that’s only if you do it in a short amount of time. You can see them more, but you may want to spread it out a couple of months to a year. Maybe two. We’ll see.”

Heartbroken, Dipper rubbed his hand over his face. “Are you serious?” he moaned. “I can only visit them a few times every _two years?”_

“You don’t _have_ to.”

“Dude!”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Is being dead a bit more limited than you thought?”

“Kind of!”

Bill laughed at his misery. Then his face grew serious. “Sorry, kid. But you had to have seen this coming.”

“I guess so, but—”

“Shh, shh,” Bill quieted him.

Alarmed, Dipper looked around, panic filling his bones. “What is it?” Then he followed his gaze to the interdimensional peephole.

“And… now.”

Something clicked in Dipper’s brain. He could almost sense it. He just knew, somehow, what had happened when it did. “Mabel’s asleep.” Bill nodded again. “How do I… do it?”

“Reach your arm through the wormhole. Try to grab her, and then you’ll fall through. Into her brain.”

“Never say that again.”

“You asked.” He elbowed him. “Now do it.”

After he took a deep breath, Dipper gradually reached for the vortex, nerves wavering. “So I just…” He inserted his hand. “do this?” His hand looked giant above his sister’s head. He clenched his fist, fingers grasping for her face. A force knocked him from behind as another sucked him in from the front. He fell, head first, into the portal, squealing. There was a flash of blue before his body suddenly thinned out, stretching long and slim like a rope. Mabel’s eyes, completely blue and pupil-less, opened, her head moving involuntarily to watch the ceiling. Dipper, having no control, flew straight into her eye. The light pierced him as he dove in, unsure of what to expect.

~~~~~

The first thing he noticed was the color. Lots and lots of color. _Too_ much color. Shielding his face, Dipper squinted at the spectacle he had opened his eyes to. What he saw was… everything. What _wasn’t_ there? _Good taste, that’s what,_ he thought.

All around him was a scene that could’ve belonged to a children’s fairytale book. Rainbows, unicorns, talking animals, ice cream mountains with hot fudge slides, and even a beach with candy sand were all to be seen. _This must be Mabel’s Mindscape._

Blocking out the horrible disco music blasting from thin air, Dipper searched the surroundings for his twin. He put one foot in front of the other and tried to walk. However, his foot didn’t make contact with the peppermint sidewalk like he had thought, and he fell forward, nearly landing on his face, but instead he hovered, horizontal, above the “pavement.”

“Oh, great. Not this again,” he mumbled. He kicked at the ground and flew a few feet forward, then stopped again. “This is _not_ like swimming, Bill!” shouted Dipper, even though he knew he wasn’t around. He placed his palms on the ground and walked on them, like a fly scaling a wall. _This is degrading._

“Mabel!” he called. “You have company!” He looked to the sugary beach. There, lying in one of the lounge chairs, was his sister. “Mabes!” He propelled himself in her direction, kicking his feet to go faster. His body only floated a foot above the surface. He felt like an eel.

Dipper came up beside the chair. She was asleep. He straightened his body and pushed himself farther into the air, flipping so that he was upside-down. He hovered in front of her face. “Psst. Wake up. Mabel.” She didn’t stir. “ _Mabel!_ ”

Her lids fluttered. Seeing her dead brother’s face, she jerked back. Then she absorbed the rest of her surroundings. “D-Dipper?”

“Hey, Mab Mabs.”

“This must be a dream.”

“Well, duh. Where else would you get a penguin serving you French fries?” He nodded at the bird that had waddled up beside them.

“Canada?”

What? No! Well, maybe. Mabel, it’s me! I traveled into your Mindscape! It worked!”

“My what?”

“Your dream land, in other words. I’m in your subconscious!”

“But you—I’m confused.”

“Bill turned me into a demon. You’re asleep, but I can speak to you through your dreams now. That’s about it for our means of communication, though. This is _real,_ Mabel. It’s _really_ me!”

Her eye twitched. “But… you…”

Dipper looked away. “Yeah. I went with him. I died for him. Don’t take it personally. I love him, but I love you just as much. Out of everyone, I expect you to get it. I miss you the most, so that’s why I came to you. I hope you can forgive me.”

Mabel stared at him blankly, not knowing how to respond. “This is really my Dipper Pines?”

He nodded. “It is.”

Suddenly, she covered her mouth and choked back a muffled sob. “Oh my god,” she cracked. “You’re here. You’re actually freaking here. In front of me! You’re alright!”

“Sort of, I guess. I’m not really alive, but that’s not the point. Also all the blood is rushing to my head and I don’t know how to turn right-side-up.” Mabel spun him a bit too hard and he started doing multiple flips in a row. “ _Mabel!_ ” She giggled through her tears. “Stop me!” She grabbed his ankle and he swayed in the breeze, looking sick. “If I barf on your head you have yourself to blame.” He lowered his feet a few inches above the sand and fixed his posture.

“I can’t believe you’re—”

“Here?”

“Dead.”

“Oh. Mabel, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking. I hate leaving you alone. I can only see you a few more times and only while you’re asleep, and—”

“Dipper.” The girl, standing to her feet, cut him short. “It’s okay. You love him. You didn’t plan it. Love makes you do impulsive things. Go. Live with him. Forever.”

Dipper hadn’t even thought of that. They _would_ literally be together forever now, wouldn’t they? He scratched the back of his neck and tried again to put his toes on the ground, but to no avail. “Awkward sibling hug?”

“Sincere sibling hug.”

Dipper grabbed his sister as tight as he could. He felt her sobbing into his shoulder and couldn’t help letting loose a tear or two himself. The idea of a twin-less twin in the world broke his heart.

“I left it,” she blurted.

Dipper pulled back. “Left what?”

“That triangle you drew on the wall. I took down the sheet and left it for everyone to see. I drew a pine tree next to it.” She swiped a finger down the image on his hat.

“You did?” He imagined how the wall looked now, the two symbols that made up who he was side-by-side, untouchable. They were proudly displayed to the entire world, and there was nothing anyone could do about it. “I’m going to miss you so freaking much, Mab Mabs.”

She sniffed. “Back at you, Dipping Sauce. I love you.”

“I love you, too. You know, it’s a nice subconscious you’ve got. I may have to come back.”

Mabel gave a weak laugh. “You better.” She let go of her brother and wiped her nose on her sweater sleeve. “Should I take this off?” She motioned to the shooting star on her shirt.

“Don’t bother. It looks pretty on you. And I’m keeping this hat.” Dipper pulled on the brim. “It’s like my emblem.”

Mabel forced a smile. “Oh, Bro-bro, you’re my best friend. I’m gonna hate growing up without you.”

“You’ll have Stan and Ford and everyone else. And I’m never leaving you. I’m always gonna come back and drive you crazy.”

“Can I spin you in circles again?”

“Deal.” Dipper ruffled her hair. “So how did the others react? When they found out about me and Bill?”

“Oh, I explained everything. But they were kind of too upset about your death to get mad. They were pretty understanding after all that.”

“They were?” Guilt washed around in his chest. “And I was such a jerk to them.”

“No, you weren’t. You did what you had to do—what you _wanted_ to do. They accept your dreams. You may not think so, but we all love you, Dippy. Who couldn’t? You’re kind of adorable. You’re like a—”

“Don’t say it.”

“Kitten.”

“I think I should go.” Dipper kissed the top of his sister’s head.

“So soon?”

“You need proper rest. I’d hate to take away your beauty sleep. You need it enough as it is.”

“I’m going to let that one slide because you just died, but next time I _will_ kill you.”

Dipper gave one last laugh. “Goodbye, Mabel.”

“Goodbye, Dipper.”

He placed his hands on her shoulders and concentrated. Looking into each other’s eyes, they each gave a remorseful smile. Dipper focused on leaving the Mindscape. He wasn’t sure how to do it, but a natural feeling came over him that told him what to do. The rest of the world crumbled around them. It swirled into a black hole that opened beneath their feet. He stared at his sister, wanting to get the perfect last image of her. The chocolate brown hair on her head flowed down her slender back. The sweater was baggy, yet it fit her nicely, conforming to her curves. Wonder and curiosity dazzled in her big, round eyes. Perfect. He blinked.

They disappeared.

~~~~~

The tree branches cut into his limbs as he fell through them, the twigs scraping through the skin. When he finally reached the bottom one, he fell a few feet to the bulging roots below, landing on his back. “Gah! Ooh…” Dipper inclined his chin, reaching under him to feel the sore spots. They were all sore spots.

“How’d it go?” He looked at the source of the noise. Bill was perched nonchalantly on the top branch. “Hopefully better than that landing. Yikes.” He jumped and floated gracefully down to his side.

Dipper laid his head back again. “Stop showing off.”

“It’s not showing off. It’s called ‘doing things right the first time.’”

“I think I broke everything.”

Bill kneeled and slid his hands under his back, scraping him off the gray ground like an egg from a frying pan and straightening to full height. He cradled him in his arms like a groom does his bride. He looked genuinely concerned. “You okay there, Pine Tree?”

The gesture made the pain worse at first, but it eventually faded as Bill stopped moving. Dipper bit his tongue to keep from moaning.  “I don’t know... Emotionally or physically?”

“Both.”

“No.”

Bill leaned against the tree and held him closer, the child’s head landing on his chest. _Was it worth it?_

_I’d do it a hundred times over._

Bill’s back slid down the rough bark until he sat on the ground, holding Dipper in his lap.

“That really hurts…” the boy mumbled.

The man nestled his forehead against his, then turned him vertically. He laid him out in between his legs, resting Dipper’s back on his stomach. His arms draped themselves across his chest as Dipper’s head leaned back on his flesh. “Better?” he asked.

“A little.” Despite never needing to sleep again, he felt tired.   

“I missed you. It reminded me of when I was all by myself.”

Fire sparked in Dipper’s ribs and spread to his cheeks. His heart went off like a firecracker. He had gone through so much shame he forgot how happy this man made him. He made him feel special, one-of-a-kind. In a good way. Like he couldn’t live without him. “You’ll never be alone again. Never. Even if you want to be, too bad. I’m there.”

“Hm. Maybe I didn’t think this through.” He ran his fingers along Dipper’s collarbone. _Do you want to talk about it?_

_What’s the point?_

Silent, Bill simply stared at his head, trying desperately to think of something that would make his boyfriend feel better. “Hey, kid,” he whispered. “Want to see something cool?”

“Depends on your definition of cool.”

“Watch.” He snapped. Sparkles drizzled from his fingers, then vanished. Suddenly, the air began to change. Something shifted in the distance. Objects materialized around them. Buildings, trees, and other normal things appeared in the dense, empty void. The gray in the sky melted into a soft blue. Clouds blossomed above their heads. Sunshine rained onto the town that had formed out of nowhere, spreading light and liveliness in every corner. “Remember when I said I took away your memories? Well, here they are.”

“This is my real Mindscape?”

“Mm-hm. And you can view your memories now like movies. I know it’s not the same, but this way you’ll _technically_ always be able to see your fam—”

“Bill, I love it!” Unable to roll over because of his back pain, Dipper scooted up and tipped his head back. He took Bill’s upside-down face in both his hands. “Thank you. That means so much.”

Bill smiled gently. His pupil transformed into yet another heart and his cheeks reddened. “Anything for my Pine Tree.” His lips dipped down onto the child’s nose, giving a quick peck. Dipper twirled a chunk of his wheat-gold hair amongst his stout fingers and let the warmth within him radiate outward. He was pretty sure being dead had never made anyone this happy.

The blood coursing through his veins boiled, especially in his face. Something he’d never experienced before nagged at him: appreciation. His fingers went numb. He could feel his heart hammer his ribs. For some reason, laughter bubbled past his lips. He couldn’t stop.

Bill chuckled, too, and grabbed the underneath of Dipper’s chin, raising it higher. The man’s lips slid down the bridge of his nose and onto his mouth, brushing the skin and leaving a tingling trail in its wake. Goosebumps popped up on Dipper’s arms, despite being so warm. The tip of his head bored into Bill’s chest. He could hear the man’s heart thumping wildly, blood pumping in and out of the organ at rapid speed. Dipper was paralyzed. The feeling was beautiful.

His brain swam in thoughts at what was coming. Bill’s mouth pressed harder against his own, firmer. Dipper drew in a sharp breath before all the holes were sealed. Dynamite exploded in his ribcage. The feel of another’s breath filling his mouth made his chest lurch and his temples sweat. It was hot, and not just from the newly beaming sun. Bill slipped his tongue into his mouth, slimy like a tentacle. It slid past his teeth and touched his own. Willingly, Dipper pushed his tongue into his boyfriend’s mouth. He wasn’t sure what to do at this part. This had never happened before. He went along with whatever Bill was doing. Steam flooded the space between them. Molten lava filled his lungs.

Suddenly, he felt the urge to breathe. Why was it that demons didn’t need to eat or sleep but they had to breathe? He held on a few more precious seconds, then slipped his tongue back into its rightful place, sliding it against Bill’s as he did. His lips closed, cutting off any chance of it happening again. Saliva lingered in his mouth. He swallowed. Heart racing, he thought of something to say about his first perfect kiss. About his first kiss ever. What were you _supposed_ to say? Were you allowed to talk? The movies always skipped this part.

_Don’t say anything at all. You’ll probably screw it up, somehow._

_Bill—?_

_It was my first kiss, too._

Dipper moved his hands from Bill’s cheeks to the back of his head, running his fingers through his hair. His shoes no longer touched the ground. He looked down. They levitated, up and up, against his will. From the bottom up, the rest of his body ascended until he was perfectly vertical, head under his feet, as if balloons were tied to his ankles. Panicked, he clung to Bill’s neck to keep from drifting off.

“Uh oh,” Bill teased. “It looks like some’s got the Love Floats.”

“Please help,” he whispered.

“Nothing I can do about it. You’re in _love_.” He put two syllables in the last word.

Dipper’s grip slipped and he inched up. “You can hold me so I don’t fly away.”

“True. I’d hate to lose you like that. Do you know how embarrassing it would be to have to say my boyfriend flew away from me?”

“Bill. Bill. _Bill.”_ He desperately repeated his name as he got closer and closer to the sky.

Bill grabbed his elbows, stood,  and pulled. Their faces were level again. “You really need to work on this, kid. Do you _want_ to be tied to a leash?”

“Not particularly.” He wiggled his toes. “Is this an actual thing demons go through?”

“Only the ones that are in love and can’t control their powers.”

“So if I do _this,_ it will only get worse?” Dipper pressed his lips to Bill’s again, the sticky soft taste of sweat and sugar mingling on his tongue. His knees and back straightened, and his arms would’ve done so as well if Bill didn’t hold onto them. His feet pointed to the leaves above. The kiss lasted a few seconds before he pulled back.

“Very.”

He noticed something. “Bill, my everything is numb.”

“Probably because ninety-nine percent of your blood is in your head because you can’t stay calm for five minutes.” Bill yanked on him again. He looped his arms over his torso and hugged him against his body, making Dipper’s top half right-side-up. Unfortunately, his legs still extended to the open air, so he was folded in half like a taco. Blood gushed from his brain and refilled his body. Feeling stimulated his nerves again.

“How long does this last?”

“Until your heart is broken.”

“Shoot.”

Bill laughed. “I’m messing with you. It’s either until you stop being so giddy at the moment or until you control your powers.”

“How do I do that?”

“Practice.” He pressed his nose to his ear. “Just steady your nerves, my demented little pervert. Take a deep breath.”

“I know you’re trying to help, but it’s really just making this worse.”

“Just try. Calm your heartbeat.”

Closing his eyes, Dipper sucked in a breath of clean air through his nose. His limbs were shaky with the effort. He took another, burrowing himself into Bill’s clothes. He imagined darkness all around, believing there was nothing else surrounding him. His body sunk and became heavier. His knees drooped, and a tiredness washed over him. His eyes were already closed, but his lids sagged anyway. The weight of his limbs increased. The lungs in his chest expanded and deflated, his breaths becoming even and steady. A magnet pulled him to the ground. His feet dropped suddenly, landing with a plonk. He slumped into Bill, eyes slowly flickering open.

“I know I shouldn’t say this, but you’re still adorable when you’re sleepy.”

“Yeah, you really shouldn’t. Flying is exhausting.” Once he let out a yawn, Dipper tried to stand on his own, wavering.

Bill intertwined his gloved fingers into his bare ones and raised them to head-level. He broke into his classic confident smirk. “You did it.”

“Did what?”

“Control your powers. For now, anyway. It takes time to master it.” He let go and wiggled his fingers, twirling a wisp of blue flame between them.

“Really? That was it?”

“Pretty much. Just do that whenever things get out of hand. Soon enough it’ll be second nature to you. Until then, I’m looking forward to seeing more of your fails.”

“Keep that up and I’m not going to get the Love Floats in the first place.” Dipper faced the town. “So… that’s like my brain, then? It’s not actually an endless void?”

“Shocking, I know.”  Bill walked up behind Dipper and draped his arms about his neck, then levitated his feet and coiled his legs around his waist. The man was like a koala. His head dug into his shoulder. “It’s all for you, Pine Tree. It’s all yours.”

The gesture was unexpected but sweet. Dipper had to breathe hard to keep his head out of the clouds. Literally. Nonetheless, his toes began to hover. Bill’s weighty was the only thing keeping him down.

“Oh no you don’t. You’re not getting away from me that easily.” Lifting his chin, Bill pointed a finger at Dipper’s shoes. He thudded to the grass. Bill formed a gun shape with his fingers and blew on it like he had just fired a weapon. “Lead shoes. Consider them like your training wheels. You’re gonna need them for this.” He nuzzled his face back into the crook of Dipper’s neck, leaving a trail of kisses all the way up to his ear, where the tip of his nose rested. He smiled sweetly into the boy’s skin.

Butterflies bloomed in Dipper’s heart, scattering every way they could. He felt his toes lift in the shoes, but his feet stayed grounded. Trembling a little, he cocked his head to face Bill. His mouth was level with his forehead. He pressed his lips against the mop of yellow hair and touched the skin beneath it. The legs around his waist tightened like a boa constrictor.

“Kid?”

“Hm?” He reeled back, worried he had made some mistake.

“I don’t think I ever said it. So thank you.” His face was still down, but his one good eye looked up, sprinkles of shimmering gold ablaze. It was like a lonely puppy. “I didn’t think anyone would ever love me so much that they’d lose everything they care about to make me happy.”

Dipper flushed, the corners of his mouth reaching for his ears. “I didn’t lose everything I care about. I still have you, don’t I?”

Crinkles formed around Bill’s eye as his own smile grew. It had never been big enough to do that before. “That’s right. You’re stuck with me. Now go. Explore your thoughts.” He kicked his legs out and slapped them on the dirt, keeping one arm wrapped over his boyfriend’s shoulder.

“Should I?” Dipper swung a foot up, taking his first step with the new shoes on. It rose with swift force before plummeting back down. He ducked forward, almost collapsing on his face. It was like walking with roller skates. He repeated the movement with his other leg.

“Easy there! You don’t have to rush off there right now if you don’t want to. You may want to get a little more used to this feeling before you go tramping around. After all, it’s pretty much just all your old memories. You can do anything that you can do over there over here. One of the perks of being a demon.”

Dipper glanced at the solitary town, his new home. This was where he’d spend the rest of his days. He was actually kind of relieved he didn’t have to head there just yet. He’d have plenty of time for that later. “So what should we do now?”

“Literally anything you want.” Bill snatched Dipper closer, taking a fist and ruffling it on his head.

“Hey, quit it!” he giggled. He groped for Bill’s hands, but he pulled them too far above their heads. Too short to reach, Dipper jumped. As he did, Bill, snickering, swiped an arm under his back and whirled him up, legs dangling in the air. Dipper flopped down into his arms like a fish out of water. “Bill, stop!” he laughed, not meaning a word.

He rolled over to escape, but his plan worked a little too well. His body slipped out of its cradle and headed for the ground. He shrieked, but Bill caught him by the calves and yanked him up. The man deliberately fell on his butt, then spun Dipper around so that they were facing the same way. He dropped to his back with the boy locked in his grasp. Dipper’s legs flailed. His chest was like baking bread, gradually rising higher. “Where do you think you’re going?” Bill said. He clamped his elbow over his ribs, forcing him back down.

Giggling still, Dipper wriggled his arms free and lurched to the right, knocking Bill and himself on their sides. His knees bent to his chest. Bill’s followed, curling around his body. His hair tickled against Dipper’s cheek. “I can’t breathe!” he choked between laughs. “I can’t breathe!”

Bill loosened his grip, but he rolled onto his other side and on top of Dipper, who landed on his back. “This seems familiar,” he drawled.

“So it does.” Dipper thought of that night in the Mystery Shack, the one time he was brave. He was so glad he was.

Bill flopped back onto his right side, dragging his boyfriend along with him. The demons calmed themselves and stared into one another’s eyes. Taking Dipper’s legs in between his own, Bill placed his palms on the boy’s cheeks, holding his face tightly. His eye dazzled. Dipper wrapped his frail arms around his neck. Their foreheads touched each other, sticky sweet breaths mingling. His fingers were numb, but Dipper caressed them through Bill’s hair. He took a shaky breath. For some reason, their play-fight had become something completely different. Suddenly he wasn’t thinking about anything else. He wasn’t thinking about the life he left behind. He wasn’t thinking about the lost possibilities. He was thinking about the man in front of him, the monster he had given the entirety of his heart to, the very essence of his joy. He was all that remained in this world. He was all he had left. Bill said something.

“What?”

“I said I love you, my little Pine Tree.”

Dipper bared his teeth, heart swelling to double its size. He wanted to cry from sheer happiness. “I love you, too, my little nacho.”

This was it, and this was all there ever would be. Nothing that could come between them existed, not in this realm or any other. This was their future. An eternity of pure love waited before them. He could do whatever pleased him, and he’d do it with the one person that he couldn’t be without, and that couldn’t be without him. This was his dream. Literally. Most people looking at his situation would say he was cursed, but Dipper knew he was actually lucky. No one— _no one_ —else had the right to say they could be immortal with the one true soulmate that possessed their heart. A lifetime of giddy moments and blissful outings and perfection in every sense of the word was theirs for the taking. No—perfect wasn’t a strong enough adjective. He couldn’t think of any possible way this could be better. They were alone in a dimension of their own. Here, time stopped just for them. In this world, everyone understood. Everything made sense. Never again would they be judged or threatened for the way they felt. Never. Dipper saw it as he gazed into Bill’s eye. They would never separate. This was their home now. Forever.  

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea how to separate it into chapters so XD


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